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Category: Super Secrets Newsletter

Exploiting low rates 2: Good numbers for gearing

SUMMARY: It’s the perfect cocktail for SMSF property investors. Two parts rising asset prices and one part low-interest rates. So, the bookies were wrong. An interest rate cut was odds-on favourite early yesterday afternoon. But nothing. Another month at least. Possibly longer. Every interest rate cut – for years, actually – has only been icing […]

A superannuation slap?

SUMMARY: A superannuation slap? Stand by for broken promises on super, probably in property. Given a choice between being slapped in the face and not being slapped in the face, I’ll take the latter. As I’m sure you would. Particularly if you weren’t aware that a slap was on the menu. (Seems to have been […]

TTR: The secret to not having to work longer

SUMMARY: You don’t have to work longer. Just be smarter with your super. Have a transition-to-retirement pension in your sights. Yet another government manifesto says the nation’s workers are going to have to get used to the idea of working longer. The Intergenerational Report (IGR) last week punted on how much longer we’re going to […]

Federal Budget: Can super tax concessions be saved?

  SUMMARY: Pressure is building for major change on retirement incomes. Which bitter pill will we be asked to swallow? We must be in Budget kite-flying season again. That time when ideas are run up flagpoles to gauge public reaction. The public purse, we are told, is empty. It needs restocking. And one area judged […]

Property in a DIY fund can be a monstrous investment

SUMMARY: Low interest rate warning for SMSFs and potential property investment. Just when you thought the bonfire was fizzling out, the Reserve Bank throws on a little fuel. The Reserve Bank’s surprise interest rate cut last week will, no doubt, have property players frothing at the mouth. Or, perhaps, knocking the top off a frothy […]

Avoiding super estate problems

SUMMARY: Who gets your super when you die? You might be surprised that your wishes won’t necessarily be followed. The perfect plan for your superannuation would see it to last you until the day you die. But what happens if you pass away first? If you die and there’s superannuation still left, who is going […]

Has your SMSF been missing out on offshore gains?

SUMMARY: Failing to attain international exposure continues to cost SMSFs big bucks. Here are three ways you can do it easily. It’s not quite “mutual exclusivity”, but Australia’s self-managed super fund investors and international equities are, let’s say, not well acquainted. It’s a pity. A huge shame. That’s partly because, ignoring how much myself and […]

2015: Super changes ahead?

SUMMARY: What’s in store for super in 2015? Hopefully little, but there’s a lot being considered by the Abbott Government. When it comes to predicting investment markets, I’m not a great crystal ball gazer. The riskier the asset class, the more I believe the “gazing” becomes “punting”. It is similarly risky trying to predict how […]

The nine risks for DIY fund operators in 2016

SUMMARY: No time to relax. SMSF trustees need to consider the risks ahead in 2016 and act now. It’s been nicely quiet out there in DIY super regulation land. Occasional jawboning, the odd threat, but little to no action. The lack of big changes in recent years has been welcome, given the turmoil of the period […]

Lending to your SMSF? Look out

SUMMARY: SMSFs who were pushing the boundaries on 0% related-party loans face big tax penalties from the ATO. When the Tax Office wants to close a door, they’ve been known to slam it with a noise that can be heard for miles. This sometimes happens even where they themselves opened the door and then left […]