In my first column for the year, I reflect on the debate I kicked off regarding the absence of any publicly managed super solution and the role the Future Fund could play in this context. After dealing with criticisms from vested interests, I query whether Chris Bowen has unwittingly wedged... Show More
Today I write that in 1992 Paul Keating created forced public saving via superannuation yet, in an unusual oversight for an otherwise inspired policy, offered no public super solution (click on that link to read the full column or AFR subs can click here). Excerpt only: Show More
Today I write about the following puzzle: Over 90 per cent of the equity raised by Australian companies is funded via the domestic stock market. Yet when these same companies issue safer debt (or bonds), which have predetermined returns and rank above shares in bankruptcy, local capital is suddenly missing... Show More
When it comes to investing, Australians forego their ‘globetrotter’ reputation and rarely look past local companies. In consumption, however, we are far worldlier and have embraced international brands such as Apple, Samsung, Google, BP and Toyota. Show More
The ALP proposal to limit refunding of franking credits will clearly impact pension phase self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs). We believe it has the potential to impact many other superannuation funds. In this paper we build a model of the key variables which determine whether a superannuation fund is likely 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
The announcement by the Australian Labor Party (“the ALP”) of its policy shift to stop the cash rebate of franked dividends was predictable … and is alarming. Show More
In the AFR today I argue that Peter Costello is right that there is a role for the government to play in providing super savers with a public sector alternative to existing super funds---in fact, I argued exactly the same thing at length way back in 2009 with my "KangaSupa"... Show More
On Friday the 9th June, the AFR ran an excellent article on the new breed of superannuation funds hitting the Australian market place, most of whom are targeted towards Gen-Y and millennials, Australia’s most populous generation. “Inside the multi-billion dollar battle for Millennials’ super”, which you can access here, looked... Show More
Ahead of what is likely to be a controversial budget, anticipation is further stimulated by the plethora of policy suggestions and thought bubbles that have been leaked by the Treasury Department. The task set for the Government and Treasurer encapsulates a range of serious problems far greater than simply balancing... Show More
The last few weeks in Australia have been dominated by talk of a housing bubble, and potential government measures to improve affordability, including the use of superannuation. Show More
Last week's AFR contains an interesting article on housing affordability and a new front on the crisis. It addresses the emerging issue of retirees draining their superannuation savings to pay off their mortgages and then go on the aged pension. Effectively defeating the purpose of superannuation. Show More
There’s a residential real estate affordability problem (I’m not fond of the word ‘crisis’ because not many things really are a crisis) in this country. Affordability, no matter what the good or service, is generally due to scarcity, or to put it another way demand supply imbalance. How do you... Show More
In The AFR I evaluate the "big interest rate duration short" and find that it has delivered in spades with the value of a AAA rated portfolio of Australian government bonds suffering a savage, two standard deviation plus loss of more than 2 percentage points (in total return terms) since... Show More
There’s a worrying new trend happening in superannuation that no one seems to have noticed: the amount of post tax money that Self Managed Super Fund savers have been putting away was approximately 10 per cent lower in the June quarter 2016 than it was in the same quarter last... Show More
If, like me, you assumed Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison was going to go easy on well-established superannuation savers in the Budget, you likely share my slightly queasy feeling. It turns out we’re more alone that we first thought and that a changing landscape may call for a change in strategy. Show More
The Australian Financial Review is reporting that today Brad Cooper, the chief executive of BT Financial Group, will call for “retirees to start paying income tax on annual superannuation earnings of more than $150,000 in a push to secure changes so the system can meet the retirement and budgetary needs... Show More
Just shy of 80% of the net worth of everyday Australians is trapped inside owner occupied housing and superannuation. That is the finding's of a Roy Morgan survey which spoke to over 250,000 Australian's. Show More
Why does the world's richest country need wealthy foreigners to fund it's own entrepreneurs? That is one conclusion to come from last weeks news that SIV applicants may need to tip a couple of million dollars into start-up and emerging companies in order to obtain a visa. Show More
The Federal Budget is a “do nothing’’ budget containing deficit forecasts that can only be a guess. Show More