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23 April 2026
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In his final letter as CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos implored people to avoid being normal, to nurture their distinctiveness. Fund managers should earn their active fees by building unique, active portfolios.
Choosing the right managed account can be achieved more effectively by checking certain key features including fee structures, investment strategies, independence, performance and risk metrics.
While there is a role for both active and passive investments in portfolios, the impact of relatively small reductions in management fees can compound to large amounts over a lifetime of saving.
Fee structures of LICs can vary greatly. Higher fees impact on net returns and make beating benchmarks more difficult. On the other hand, expect manager skill and outperformance to come at a higher cost.
Comparing investments based on management fees alone ignores the value the manager may bring, and may also overlook hidden costs. Investors should be aware what other charges can be imposed on their savings.
In a continuation of the 'active vs passive' debate, there are many reasons why a good active manager should be worth the extra cost. What should the manager be doing to deliver results?
The empirical evidence in the active v passive investing debate favours index in most asset classes, but there's a role for mixing the techniques if good managers can be identified - although that's not easy.
Sit through a dozen fund manager presentations and they all start to sound the same. There's been little significant innovation in the managed funds industry in the last 15 years. Why is this and what are the consequences?
Stay on top of the latest changes to superannuation rates and thresholds for 2026, including increases to transfer balance cap, concessional contributions cap, and non-concessional contributions cap.
The Strait of Hormuz closure due to US-Iran conflict severely disrupted global energy supply chains. While various emergency measures mitigated the crude impact, the refined product market faces unprecedented stress.
With the upcoming budget increasingly likely to include bold proposals to alter the tax code I’ve outlined three incremental steps with fewer unintended consequences.
The perceived underperformance of LICs compared to ETFs is due to existing comparison data excluding crucial information, highlighting the need for proper assessment and transparent reporting.
The Home Equity Access Scheme in Australia allows older homeowners to tap into their home equity for retirement income, yet remains underused due to lack of awareness and its perceived complexity.
Many investors are on edge as geopolitical turmoil continues to impact markets, often leading to short-sighted actions. These are the three quotes that I’ve relied on during periods of volatility.