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Category: Articles

DIY to-do list for 2009

PORTFOLIO POINT: Super fund investors will happily ring in 2009. And they won’t be shedding a tear for the departure of 2008. In the worst kind of way, 2008 will have been a life-changing year for many super fund members and trustees. There are many investors who have lost so much money in the last […]

Stiff upper lip, investors! The bottom is in sight

Stiff upper lip, investors. Keep it together. The end is in sight. Worst case scenario: Only 10 more sleeps. But Christmas is a time for optimism. So let’s look at it this way – there’s only six more trading days to go (and two of those are half days!) After that, investors, 2008 – one […]

DIY funds’ growth cools

The unconstrained growth of self-managed super funds is about to come to a stunning, but natural, end, according to respected research group Rice Warner Actuaries. The prediction follows a period of a phenomenal numerical increase, which has seen the number of SMSFs surge toward the 400,000 mark, and which may simply imply a return to […]

Time to move on from cash

PORTFOLIO POINT: It was nice while it lasted and it’s been a wonderful safe haven in a world of financial turmoil in 2008. But super fund investors will have to start searching elsewhere for another darling, as the days of cash being king are sadly numbered. Two nails have been hammered into the coffin in […]

It’s RIP for SFI’s

PORTFOLIO POINT: Prolonged and extreme market volatility yesterday killed a traditional DIY super fund favourite, the self-funding instalment (SFI) warrant. The last player in the market, Westpac, is understood to have finally turned off the tap on issuing or manufacturing SFI warrants, after running for several months on an ever-decreasing number of stocks on which […]

CMTs lose some gloss

PORTFOLIO POINT: When banks don’t even know who of their own to trust, how is a SMSF trustees supposed to know where to put their cash? Expect swift action this week by providers ofAustralia’s major cash management trusts to cut risk in their portfolios and stop a significant outflow of funds. When the Federal Government […]

Thinking cash? Think again

PORTFOLIO POINT: Have you got nerves of steel when it comes to your super fund’s investments? Thinking of switching to cash? Yesterday’s rate cut should put a dent in that plan. In this bear market that is creeping on a year old – if you start the timer at the peak close on November 1 […]

Looking cashed-up

PORTFOLIO POINT: Almost uninterrupted turbulence in global investment markets had no impact on the growth of DIY super funds. In fact, they might have fertilised it. SMSF trustees started out this financial year in a superb position – with great wads of cash at their disposal. Despite a year of unpredictable volatility in global investment […]

Costly dividends

SMSF trustees tend to have a bit of affection forAustralia’s banks and broader financial stocks. Big yielding companies that have long and distinguished histories of paying. They are certainly not asset classes that have starred in the last 12 months. In fact, their performance has been appalling. But the evidence suggests that the percentage of […]