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2 May 2024
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Young people hold the majority of home loans while older people have the vast majority of deposits. It's not hard to see why rising interest rates are hurting the young and resulting in increased intergenerational tension.
Interest rates are political dynamite in Australia given high home ownership and household debt. But increased rates are not bad for everyone and they are what's needed after the serious central banking errors of the past decade.
Economic growth, profit growth and therefore dividend growth for Australia is fairly assured over the next decade and the opportunity for patient investors to benefit is greatly enhanced by recent price corrections.
One of the major questions confronting investors is the portfolio weighting towards Australian banks in an environment of rising rates. Do the recent price falls represent value or are too many bad debts coming?
The widespread use of 'millionaire' must stop. Inflation means that the basket of goods and services that cost $1 million in 1960 now requires $15 million. Today, millionaires are not wealthy.
At the start of the 20th century, a 'Gilded Age' for plutocrats created vast fortunes and economic inequality surged. COVID is having the same impact now, but portfolios can be adapted to respond to the opportunities.
The recent rise in the prices of bank hybrids fails to recognise the risks involved, and they now look expensive compared to alternatives available to both retail and institutional investors.
There are many investment options for children beyond a savings account, but the merits of each are different for everyone. Here's some guidance for parents of both younger and older kids.
One of the greatest books on accumulating wealth ever written uses the basic premise that part of all you earn is yours to keep. Australia's compulsory superannuation system is helping you.
Less than 15% of Australians will enjoy a 'comfortable' standard of retirement with just their super. The age pension doubles the numbers, but there’s an even larger increase if other savings are included.
Where possible, we should be saving more, whether it's for retirement or a rainy day, but our human psyche seems to work against us. The key is to put money aside first and make the payments automatic.
The intention to save more is common, but it's often easier to procrastinate. There are useful techniques the wealth industry should consider to overcome this reluctance to save, to everyone's benefit.
The ATO has released all the superannuation rates and thresholds that will apply from 1 July 2024. Here's what’s changing and what’s not, and some key considerations and opportunities in the lead up to 30 June and beyond.
Life has radically shifted with my brain cancer, and I don’t know if it will ever be the same again. After decades of writing and a dozen years with Firstlinks, I still want to contribute, but exactly how and when I do that is unclear.
How useful are the retirement savings and spending targets put out by various groups such as ASFA? Not very, and it's reducing the ability of ordinary retirees to fully understand their retirement income options.
Australia will have 3.7 million more people in a decade's time, though the growth won't be evenly distributed. Over 85s will see the fastest growth, while the number of younger people will barely rise.
Investor disgust, consolidation, de-listings, price discounts, activist investors entering - it’s what typically happens at business cycle troughs, and it’s happening to LICs now. That may present a potential opportunity.
The $3 million super tax will capture retired, and soon to retire, public servants and politicians who are members of defined benefit superannuation schemes. Lobbying efforts for exemptions to the tax are intensifying.