SMSFs

In 2016 the number of SMSFs with at least 90 per cent of assets in a single investment class was 30.7 per cent. In the latest annual release that number has improved only marginally to 27.7 per cent.

The establishment of SMSFs is increasing at a record pace, but the growth is coming from a whole new area.

The review will consider “the consequences of time lags between regulatory action and cost allocation”, the terms of reference states.

Super fund members have been “spared the worst,” while the outperformance of the top ten funds was generated by active management and chunky allocations to private markets.

The term “hold on for dear life” came to explain the events of 2020 and 2021, as did “buy the dip.” For those beginning investing for the first time, their experience couldn’t have been more positive. Every fall in the market was followed by another rally, and the prevailing view was that markets always go up if your holding period is long enough.

Australians are the richest they have ever been, with wealth pushed up by rising property and shares values to a record $14.9 trillion in the March quarter of 2022, while wealth per capita surged to a record high of $574,807, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The country’s largest super fund, Australian Super, has announced a new fee structure aimed at reducing member costs by $300 million this year, following what has been a busy year for consolidation in the industry.

The central bank expects house price growth to ease this year and house prices are already falling in Sydney and Melbourne; economists expect that price weakness will spread to other cities, which may limit the number of official interest rate rises this year that are needed to tame inflation. According to the Reserve Bank of…

White noise is broadly defined as the combination of sounds of all different frequencies together, typically being used to mask other sounds. Among the most common uses of white noise is to help babies (and adults) sleep without background noise. Whilst highly powerful for this purpose, one could easily make the opposite conclusion when it…

A bounce in share markets in March supported superannuation fund performance in the first quarter of 2022. However, with inflation concerns mounting, global share markets remain volatile, including the hard US share market, which is likely to dent superannuation returns for the current financial year.  Superannuation research house SuperRatings found the median balanced option rose…

Among the Federal Budget proposals that received the least fanfare was the extension of the ‘temporary’ relief on the minimum drawdowns for account-based pensions. Whilst the media attention on the legislative change immediately highlights the fact that it benefits the wealthy more than the rest, it affords an entire generation of Australians greater flexibility. Few…

Global consulting firm Mercer has joined a growing chorus of experts suggesting the Australian superannuation system should be means-tested retrospectively. In a recent white paper, Mercer echoed the views of the Australian Institution of Superannuation Trustees (AIST), which suggests that those with superannuation balances over $5 million are causing an “inequitable” and “unsustainable” system. In…