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Category: Articles

Cooper’s wrong assumption

PORTFOLIO POINT: We can only hope large parts of Cooper’s Super System Review are treated just like most of Ripoll and Henry – vastly ignored. There’s something fundamentally wrong with Jeremy Cooper’s review and recommendations into Australia’s superannuation system. And it’s something that every reader of Eureka Report (but particularly this column) should understand. The […]

“Mistakes on tax returns can prove costly. What was your biggest tax time mistake?”

I don’t think I’ve made any huge tax-time mistakes. I’m fanatical (my wife says “anal”) about filing receipts. When I started my first full-time job, I hadn’t done my returns for the last few years of uni. Through either laziness or, um … let’s go with laziness, I asked a mate for a recommendation. And […]

A simple way to lift SMSF returns

PORTFOLIO POINT: Cash is fighting back as an asset class. What sort of strategy do you have for your SMSF’s cash holdings? There’s no need to give an SMSF trustee a briefing on volatility. Any trustee with just three years’ experience knows the equity market highs (2007), lows (2008) and rebounds (2009). Property too has […]

“Super funds have taken another hit lately. Is it still the best place for retirement savings?”

Sure, super’s recent performance has been as exciting as Scott Baio’s career since Charles In Charge. But “super” itself isn’t to blame. It’s just a low-tax vehicle, not an investment. For Gen Xers, this question has two prongs. Firstly, what do you do with “unavoidable super”? Secondly, should you contribute extra? Unavoidable super is the […]

Cooper’s cruel and artless super plan

Sacre blue! That cheeky Cooper fellow wants to do what? He wants to ban DIY funds from owning artwork! No wonder the nation’s artisan peasants are openly revolting. But it’s not just artwork. Cooper is apparently going to seek a ban on super funds owning collectibles, jewellery, antique cars, yachts, race horses and signed football […]

“Scammers are getting smarter all the time. How can we scam-proof our finances?”

While we thankfully continue to embrace capitalist democracies and shun the “nirvana” of communism (don’t forget Animal Farm), the wretched will be attracted to your money like the ants chasing sugar in my kitchen. For mine, there are two types of financial “scams”. The first is generally illegal and has been covered by Aunt Kerrin […]

Beware SMSF insurance traps

PORTFOLIO POINT: SMSFs offer trustees the ability to get perfectly flexible super funds – inside and outside super – to meet members’ needs. Super research house Chant West has released a report that is highly critical of Australia’s managed fund superannuation providers in regards to the costs to members of insurance. In the last 10-15 […]

SMSFs close in on the magic million

PORTFOLIO POINT: The average SMSF balance will most likely top $1 million this year. Australia’s average SMSF balance could top $1 million this month with the aid of a small recovery in property and equity markets and Australia’s usual end-of-financial-year flurry of contributions. The average DIY super balance was within a whisker of topping seven […]

“We all like a good return on investment. What are some great ways to invest $1,000?”

Hey, it’s June! And June is “grand final” time for personal finances – time to minimise your taxes. And $1000 can give some great tax time rewards. “I hate tax time!” I hear you scream. Shame, I reckon. People who hate tax time usually pay more tax than they have to. That’s a cardinal sin, […]

Property gets a bigger tick in SMSF changes

PORTFOLIO POINT: Shares are out and property’s dominance is entrenched in the NEW super gearing laws, quietly announced in recent days. It was bound to happen. Assistant editor James Frost and I hold a webinar on the gearing laws inside SMSFs and … a week later, the government goes and changes the law. It was […]