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Tag: Super strategies

Secret lessons from DIY funds

SUMMARY: Taking SMSFs seriously – now fund managers and stock brokers want to know how we think so they can second guess us. Yes, self-managed super funds are a force to be reckoned with. You and I have known that for some time. But it’s only now just dawning on some elements in the finance […]

SMSFs become a distorting force

SUMMARY: The power wielded by Australia’s SMSF sector is growing. Will we use that power wisely, or just in individual self-interest? When it comes to throwing its weight around, there is one super fund that can put quakes and quivers into the spines of board directors globally. CalPERS, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, can […]

Is property best inside a SMSF?

SUMMARY: You’re ready to buy an investment property. But inside or outside a SMSF? Here’s what you need to weigh up. It’s a parent’s lot to put their children’s interests ahead of their own. Some take it a little further than others and they are prepared to make sacrifices beyond the time when the “raising […]

Why compulsory annuities won’t suit SMSFs

PORTFOLIO POINT: The spectre of compulsory super annuities is increasing. And I don’t think SMSF trustees will be too thrilled. A considerable number of voices believe it’s one of the last great reforms needed to get Australia’s superannuation system up to world’s best. Compulsory annuities. When you hit retirement age – or some defined qualifying […]

Super frauds target SMSFs

PORTFOLIO POINT: Could you become a target of a super scam or SMSF fraud? Your SMSF is not safe. Here’s what to look out for. Bees and honeypots. Frauds and moneypots. It’s a similarly sticky attraction. The list of those who have lost wads to fraudsters and scam artists continually grows. Email and the internet […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

Post budget super strategies

PORTFOLIO POINT: Post-Budget super strategies to combat the latest attack on your retirement nest-egg. I was seething. As should you have been. Sure, I was sitting on a holiday in Bali, having to read the Federal Budget by mobile phone via a sometimes dodgy WiFi connection, but it didn’t temper the anger. A friend sitting […]

Risk reduction takes hold

PORTFOLIO POINT: The primary investment driver of SMSF trustees has changed. Has it taken hold of you? Some shifts in direction are subtle, like a cruise liner slowly changing its course. Some are not. Like a politician back-pedalling on a broken election promise. There was something you, as SMSF trustees, underwent last year that would […]