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The ATO’s super property crackdown

PORTFOLIO POINT: The Tax Office has warned of a SMSF property borrowing crackdown. You must get these investments right up front. A fair warning has been issued by the ATO – if you haven’t set up your geared property deals correctly, they could be coming after you. And getting it wrong could cost you half […]

Invest or die, it beats the pension

“Invest or Die!” was the alarming title of a finance book by a mate, John Beveridge, a few years back. I was expecting cold hard facts showing that “if you don’t invest, you’ll die”. Good book, but that’s not what it was about. However, it is true that wealthier people are healthier people. While the […]

School’s almost out. What can your generation teach school leavers about money?

Demographer Bernard Salt says Generation X changed the concept of growing up. Xers believed age 18, even 21, was too early to become an adult. “Can we delay the whole responsibility thing for a while …” Maybe not as long as Charlie Sheen’s character in Two and a Half Men (and hey, with Charlie in […]

Trustees seek yield safety

PORTFOLIO POINT: Eureka readers respond: “We’ve had enough of equities. We want security of return, not higher returns.” It wasn’t unanimous, but the consensus was certainly overwhelming. Eureka Report readers, specifically SMSF trustees, have had enough – for now, at least – of the “cult of equities”. Given the choice of a stable, middling return, […]

Has superannuation become a good vehicle to invest in residential real estate? Why or why not?

Jennifer Hawkins looks good in anything, right? But how much hotter is she in a swimsuit? Similarly, residential property has always looked sexy in super. Super, like a bathing cozzie, is a skimpy tax environment. Recent superannuation rule changes have put property in a bikini. Now, it’s smokin’ hot! The hottest super model of the […]

Redraw, offset best by all accounts

What do Bob Hawke, Lance Armstrong and Bill Clinton have in common? All are very smart people who have said some really dumb things. Remember these classics? “I have never doped.” “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” “By 1990, no Australian child will be living in poverty.” On a stupid scale of […]

Cashed out

PORTFOLIO POINT: SMSF trustees missed the equity and property boats in the September quarter. Why did you hold back? It’s no secret that the last financial year was a disappointment for investors. The 10%-ish mini-crash in Australian equities in May and June ruined what would have otherwise been a reasonable year. Come 1 July, markets […]

Ethical investments: Are they good for your wallet or just your soul, and how do you know what ethical is?

HIPPY alert! Sound the warning sirens! Whooop! Whooop! Whooop! Be careful when inviting hippies into your investment world. You might get a little more than “peace”, “free love” and a sitar being gently played by Ravi Shankar, if you know what I mean. Janis Joplin, Cheech & Chong and Timothy Leary are all are highly […]

Tapping into super wraps

PORTFOLIO POINT: Considering a SMSF? Would you like to “try before you buy”? Consider a “wrap” test drive. There was a big hoo-ha in superannuation industry circles last week about accountants’ role in the setting up of self-managed super funds. The facts show that accountants often have an instrumental role in setting up the SMSFs. […]