Etfs

Many SMSFs may be exposed to a much higher degree of risk with their direct share portfolios than their trustees realise.

An understandable challenge for investors during periods of higher sharemarket volatility is to keep making rational, considered investment decisions and to keep focusing on their long-term goals.

We’ve all been there: stuck in crawling, grid-locked traffic, when all of a sudden the lane next to you starts moving and the car beside you surges ahead and disappears from view.

An article in The Economist magazine this month describes low-cost, index-tracking Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) as the ‘investment equivalent of a puttering hatchback’.

The word poverty evokes a stark picture of life in retirement. That is the reality facing a disproportionate number of women in Australia as a result of the ongoing inequality in our workplaces.

One of the challenges when trying to assess the adequacy (or inadequacy) of your retirement savings is to take into account your investments both inside and outside super.

What are the hardest aspects of running your SMSF? And are there any areas where you would like financial advice but are not currently receiving it?

On the face of it, a drop in the number of self-managed super funds setup over the past two years may seem a little puzzling given the $600-billion sector’s immense popularity.

There is a fundamental issue of trust that is at the heart of the superannuation system.

Most super fund members may not realise it but the latest release of returns for the big super funds with balanced portfolios could provide a valuable lesson in behavioural finance.

One of the first tasks for trustees of new self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) is to create their first investment portfolio, typically from scratch. This can be a highly-satisfying yet sometimes challenging experience.

Fundamental principles for long-term wealth creation are spearheading the surging popularity of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) among self-managed super funds.

It can take higher volatility on investment markets – triggered by such events as the sell-off on the Chinese share market and the Greek debt crisis – to drive home the rewards of having an "all-terrain" portfolio.

First the good news. Millions of Australians gain their life and disability insurance as well as income-protection insurance through their super funds’ default cover. And the level of that default cover tends to be much more adequate than a decade ago. Now the not-so-good news. It can be a costly mistake to assume that your super fund’s default insurance cover is adequate for your circumstances.

Estate planning is, of course, a key part of sound financial planning. And, in turn, superannuation is a critical component of thorough estate planning.

Some investors will gain their first experience of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) through the direct investment options now offered by a number of large commercial and industry super funds.

Despite the ongoing growth in the popularity of index investing, some investors continue to believe that ‘this time is different’. Investors often point to a broad range of market and economic risks faced today, believing them to be best-managed by a professional investor who has the skill and flexibility to actively navigate a portfolio through challenging times.

One of the most fundamental provisions in superannuation law, the in-house asset rule, is also one of the easiest for SMSF trustees to unintentionally breach.

Investors naturally tend to focus on maximising returns. Yet no-one can be certain what returns will be in the future. The opposite is true when you focus on costs. There is a high level of certainty about the fees you will be charged whether it be investment products like managed funds or the plastic cards in your wallet.

Self-managed super funds are truly leading the way in the growing trend for retiring super fund members to take their super benefits as a superannuation pension rather than a lump sum.

The baby boomer generation are often enviously described as the ‘lucky generation’.

We have long read and heard tales of retirees taking much of their super as a lump sum and rapidly spending all of the money on improving their immediate lifestyles – only to fall back on the age pension.

We are now entering a peak retirement time of the year, with many retiring Australians aiming to have their last day in the paid workforce around about this time of the year.

The superannuation system is under scrutiny on two fronts – its high costs and the ability to deliver income in the all-important retirement years.

Whether you’re nearing retirement or the retirement phase is a little way off, it’s never too early (or late) to make your savings work harder with ETFs, explains Mark Wills, Head of Asset Allocation, State Street Global Advisors Asia Pacific.

An elementary challenge for investors is to decide whether to invest in actively-managed investment funds, index-tracking funds or a combination of both.

Bank shares and residential property have been the poster children for Australian investors for most of the past decade.

While saving in super is an extremely long-term exercise, many of us focus on improving our immediate superannuation positions as the end of another financial year looms.

Australia’s superannuation system has passed a new milestone, reaching $2 trillion-plus in total assets.

All of us expect to slow down as we age, affecting many aspects of our lives. Our ability to deal with money is obviously not immune from the relentless march of ageing.

It is not breaking any news to say that many Australians are enthusiastic investors in direct property.

A broadly diversified portfolio with an appropriate target asset allocation for an investor’s circumstances is a straightforward and disciplined way to deal with uncertainty about where to invest in today’s unquestionably challenging investment environment.

Investors understand that investing comes with risk and markets move in cycles. Voters understand that governments will make unpopular decisions at times. But in recent times markets and politicians have combined in something of a perfect storm for those of the generation where silver hair comes naturally.

The Reserve Bank’s cutting of official interest rates to a record low of 2 per cent should reinforce to income-focused investors why the concept of total-return investing makes sense.

Many of us would like to assume that we are in control of the timing of our eventual retirement.

Teenagers can be a worry – just ask any parent. But when it comes to understanding all things financial, today’s teenagers have to deal with a much more complex and in many ways less tangible world.

All of us experience financial turning points or financial milestones in our lives. But the way we deal with them obviously differs widely.

Investors may understandably be puzzled if their investment returns are very different from the managed investment funds holding their money. Vanguard analysts in Australia and the US have examined this phenomenon in which investors appear to be effectively underperforming themselves.

The spotlight has been firmly directed towards the high end of the superannuation market.

The latest medium and long-term returns of the big balanced super funds provide a telling reminder about a powerful and straightforward investment strategy known as dollar cost averaging.