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Category: Newsletters

Insurance: Most of us need some, but what and how much? Where do you start?

MOST of us need? Seriously. All Gen Xers need it! Like we need air. And Sunnyboy iceblocks on 40 deg day. Ask yourselves the following. Have you got a mortgage, kids, partner, debt or a job? Still breathing? The more of those you said “uh-huh” to, the more insurance you need. Unless you won lotto […]

Drilling down into DIY super

PORTFOLIO POINT: How do you compare? The latest stats show some surprising trends in the SMSF sector. For years we moaned about the quality of up-to-date statistics on self-managed super funds. The data was years old by the time it came out. That is changing. We’ll never get up-to-the-minute figures like we do with share […]

Seven super tips for 2013

PORTFOLIO POINT: Take a moment to be thankful for returns in calendar 2012. Now, focus on what you need to do in 2013. In recent years, it’s been rare that SMSF trustees have had so much to be pleased with when it comes to performance. And returns in 2012 were something to put a smile […]

Not everyone is cheering about interest rate cuts

Newton’s Third Law of Interest Rates: “For every cheer, someone sheds a tear.” I know, there’s no such thing. Sir Isaac was no economist (the dismal science). He was a physicist (something that deals in relative certainty). But you could convert all three of his laws of motion into equally accurate money rules. Most notably […]

The DIY pre-retirement garage sale

PORTFOLIO POINT: Numbers on post-retirement asset switching show SMSF retirees actually do de-risk their portfolios as they age. The shift from being a part of the workforce to being retired is a momentous decision in the life of anyone. Some cope with the transition really well. Others don’t. Most, as I wrote about here (15 […]

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 […]

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, […]