While volatility in investment markets cover both up and down moves in prices, it is naturally the big negative moves that capture attention. It is a rare investor indeed who is unhappy about sudden moves up.

An adequate retirement income is – like beauty – all in the eyes of the beholder. The Australian superannuation system has for the past 20 years been concentrated more on the value of the account balance at the time of retirement – the ‘how much is enough’ question.

Chances are you are among those perusing the lists of bestselling books of 2015 and the critics’ best-read selections for a gift or for something to read over the Christmas and New Year break.

You have probably heard of the classic marshmallow test conducted more than 40 years ago by US psychologist Walter Mischel.

Many investors are searching for the quantifiable "crystal ball" that will enable them to identify talented investment fund managers in advance.

A recent personal finance article in The New York Times features the real-life stories of "supersavers" who heavily focus on wealth creation at almost every opportunity – yet without sacrificing an occasional indulgence.

Dividends have cushioned an eight-year rollercoaster ride for share investors. This is illustrated by looking at the ups and downs of the S&P/ASX200 Index (prices only) and the S&P/ASX200 Accumulation Index (share price plus dividends) over this period.

Behavioural economists and financial planners have long warned that the common behavioural trait of inertia can be highly detrimental to investors.  

‘Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it … he who doesn’t … pays it.’ – Albert Einstein

One of the key drivers behind the impressive growth in the popularity of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) is their increasing use as the centrepiece in core-satellite investment strategies.

There is one powerful, simple fact about the $140+ million wagered on this month’s Melbourne Cup that the investment industry can probably only dream of emulating. No matter how little – or how much – you decided to bet based on the horse/jockey/colour/lucky number, the one thing that was not in doubt was that you knew you risked losing the lot.

One of the saddest personal finance stories of the year is a recent piece in The New York Times about the growth of what the author calls "silver or grey divorces".

Just as the Federal Government accepts a recommendation from the Financial System Inquiry that the objectives of super be enshrined in law, the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal has discussed this issue specifically from the perspective of super death benefits. It makes interesting reading.

As Smart Investing recently discussed, Australia once again ranks third out of 25 countries in the latest Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index in terms of the overall score for our retirement-income system’s adequacy, sustainability and integrity.

How should investors deal with the outlook for continuing low-inflation, low-interest rates, subdued investment returns and slow global economic growth?

With an almost uncanny coincidence of timing, the respected Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index was released within a day of the Federal Government’s response to the recommendations of the Financial System Inquiry, chaired by David Murray.

Sometimes the simple things in life can be the most elusive. Take the recommendations of the Financial System Inquiry chaired by David Murray that the federal government responded to by accepting the majority of them.

The headline-grabbing news for SMSFs this month is without doubt the Government’s announcement that it had rejected a recommendation by the Murray Financial System Inquiry to prohibit super funds from directly borrowing using limited recourse loans.

Here is a textbook illustration of why a disciplined, long-term and diversified approach to investing makes much sense.

A key challenge investors face is separating the issue of investment strategy from the best way to implement it. At times the discussion can quickly focus on implementation questions – best products, best structure – rather than the overall investment strategy.

A potential pitfall for investors is to underestimate their exposure to residential real estate by not taking their own homes into account.

A potential trap when saving for retirement is to automatically assume that our retirement savings will have to cover just ourselves: either as a couple or as a single retiree. Yet as many more people nearing retirement or already in retirement are finding out, life and family circumstances can be far more complicated than that.

There are many lessons investors can garner from the sporting world. Keeping score is certainly one. Accountability is another.

A recent Vanguard research report from the US tags employees who have been automatically enrolled in retirement funds from their early years in the workforce as the ‘auto-savings generation’.

For a large part of the last decade, many Australian investors may have questioned why they should hold overseas shares given the performance of the local market together with the added attraction of franked dividends.

Every so often, self-managed super cases before the Federal Court provide telling reminders for SMSF trustees about some of the most fundamental rules in superannuation. 

The continuing high volatility on sharemarkets underlines once again the critical role of bonds as a diversifier or ballast for a diversified portfolio.

One of the most critical challenges for SMSF trustees is to set an appropriate asset allocation for their portfolios – including their exposure to overseas shares.

The progressive introduction of the MySuper default super system may be providing a perhaps unexpected opportunity for financial planners to help boost the retirement savings of fund members currently in their employers’ default super fund.

An enduring myth is that super fund members who do not nominate a super fund to receive their compulsory employer contributions are probably disinterested in their retirement savings.

Index funds have become increasingly popular with investors over the past ten years. But some might say indexing has become too popular and index funds too big. We recently sat down with two tenured Vanguard investment leaders in the United States: Joe Brennan, Head of Equity Indexing, and Greg Davis, Head of Vanguard’s Fixed Income Group, to discuss the growth of indexing and other topical issues in the stock and bond markets. 

It could be tagged the neighbourhood-wealth syndrome: when our neighbour spends money on a costly new car or major renovations, some of us may feel an urge to somehow compete with our spending.

Given the intense sharemarket volatility, few investors would be surprised that the market capitalisation of Australian-listed exchange traded products dipped a little in August, slipping by about three per cent.

Taking out a home loan to buy a property is a significant decision for most people. Property is such a large, lumpy asset it usually requires a commitment for many years into the future.

Investors who focus mainly on pre-tax returns may gain a misleading impression of their real investment performance. And, in turn, they may not give enough attention to trying to keep their tax costs – along with their other investment costs – to a minimum. 

A significant component of Australia’s super system, its preservation age, has had a birthday of sorts.

Investment risk is not something members of Australian super funds can avoid.

Google’s fleet of prototype self-driving cars has reportedly been involved in just 16 minor accidents over six years and 1.6 million kilometres of test driving.

One of the longest-term decisions many investors will make is whether to setup a self-managed super fund with individual trustees or a corporate trustee.

You may not be surprised that self-managed super funds hold about 55 per cent of the overall assets invested in superannuation retirement products.