10 years ago, Jeremy Cooper, now Chairman of Retirement Income at Challenger, chaired the Federal Government’s Super System Review, commonly known as the Cooper Review. With the final report from the Banking Royal Commission due to be released in a couple of days, we took the opportunity to talk to... Show More
In the scramble for customers, some fund managers and superannuation providers are taking on additional risk, investing in a range of assets and deeming them ‘cash’ when clearly they are not. Show More
Over the past 12-months, the 3-year Australian Government Bond has risen just 21 basis points from ~1.8% a year ago, to 2.01% now. For an average retiree with an account balance of $200,000, this equates to an additional $420 of income per year. Show More
Challenger is a diversified investment management firm that manages over $60b in assets. Today Challenger is focused on providing wealth creation solutions for those in the accumulation phase of superannuation and also reliable income streams for retirees. Show More
Retirement funding is becoming an ever-growing burden on government budgets and 10-year bonds are not offering a fair risk-adjusted return, even after recent corrections. Adding fuel to the flames – relentless foreign indebtedness growth, reliance on foreign equity, low inflation and wage growth, declining export commodity prices, record low cash... Show More
Investment markets are currently being challenged by low global economic growth and distorted by monetary policy targeting historically low and (increasingly) negative interest rates. This has led to a reversal of expected norms, as investors have turned to stocks for income, while bonds have been a significant source of capital... Show More
Objective based investing allows a manager’s investment objectives to be directly aligned with investor’s objectives. Objective based investing does not explicitly refer to benchmarks; established market indexes are typically weighted by size (and determined by price). Show More
Starting up a portfolio for your children might be one of the best things you can do for your children. But how should you go about it? Show More
It’s not about interest rates, or dividends or technical trends or any of the other hyped nonsense which passes for commentary, and last night we had proof. Global indices fell, mostly as a result of the realisation that if commodity prices remain low mining dividends are under threat. Meanwhile, the... Show More
Malcolm Turnbull is absolutely right to be throwing the switch to innovation – Australia is not going to mine or bank its way into an improvement in its long term growth prospects, at least not with the existing models. But there needs to be some circumspection around innovation investment, because... Show More
The F1 (effectively a prospectus without a price) for Atlassian reveals a lot of figures, but is silent on the main one – how much the business might be worth. I am not in possession of any broker information, don't work for the company, nor have I received any company... Show More
The investing time horizon can be a big factor in setting investment objectives and shaping investor outcomes. Yet, it’s a contentious issue in finance as there is rarely any consensus on what a long or short time horizon really means. Show More
Unfortunately, for today’s retirees, traditional income generating assets such as cash or term deposits are yielding returns that are at all-time lows, and well below the 5% minimum drawdown rate. Luckily for retirees, there is still one asset class that is generating reasonable levels of income. Australian equities Figure 1... Show More
Australians need to look further afield for additional sources of income as they live longer. In particular, global equities that pay and grow dividends over time have the potential to address investors’ challenges of managing both market and longevity risk in retirement. Show More
The rising number of Australian retirees face a major investment challenge - how to best manage their financial nest egg for a further 20+ years. Invest too cautiously and there's a risk of insufficient income; invest too aggressively, and there's a risk of exposure to significant losses, which could prematurely... Show More