While retirement conditions are improving around the world, Australians are retiring later than their global peers, as higher inflation and cost-of-living challenges drive fears over longevity risk in retirement, recent surveys show.
In a review of financial product issuers’ compliance with requirements meant to ensure complex and high-risk investments are kept out of the wrong hands, the regulator found room for improvement – and reminded issuers of its enforcement powers.
With Australia facing difficult conditions as the impacts of rising interest rates continue flowing through the economy, credit remains one of the most reliable and attractive ways to add defensiveness to a portfolio, strategists from SQM Research and ICG told a recent Inside Network symposium.
Following the Labor government’s decision to shelve a program meant to streamline and modernise Australia’s business registry system, the SMSF Association has argued for keeping “key aspects” of the scheme that would have meant material improvements for corporate trustees and the SMSF sector.
Investors will need to adjust to a new context of greater volatility to get on the “right side” of new opportunities, BlackRock strategists said, with higher interest rates and inflation likely to stick around and “mega-forces” driving market performance.
The bill would require any future legislation affecting superannuation to comport with the objective of preserving savings “to deliver income for a dignified retirement, alongside government support, in an equitable and sustainable way”.
The ATO said failures to preserve superannuation benefits and comply with auditing requirements led it to disqualify 753 SMSF trustees this year and issue nearly $30 million in penalties, as it warned of increased scrutiny going forward.
“Like a good wine, the best vintages in private markets often come from challenging environments,” Franklin Templeton’s Tony Davidow says, predicting the recent dysfunction markets have endured could mean a strong vintage year for private equity.
NYU finance professor Aswath Damodaran recently looked at the apparent disconnect between blockbuster sport franchise prices and earnings fundamentals, in an examination of how assets reach “trophy” status and what it means for determining their value.
The regulator will target predatory lending practices and misconduct against small business, with a focus on scams, particularly where conduct hurts retirement outcomes. It’s also looking into how banks responds to customers in financial distress.
