Etfs

As behavioural economists remind us, investors often have an urge to take decisive action regarding their investment portfolios even though the best course is frequently to do nothing.

It is the investor lament of 2015 – where do I invest now?

Well-informed investors are discovering what institutional investors have long understood; that asset allocation, not security selection, is key to driving long-term investment results. Consequently, the most important decision an investor can make is now seen to be asset allocation. For a high performing portfolio, it has been proven that getting the right mix of assets is more impactful on successful performance than the individual securities chosen. Individual security selection is important but asset class selection is vital.

With the strong growth in index funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs) in the Australian marketplace in recent years, debate is again swirling on the benefits of active vs. passive investment management.

One of the benefits of using equity ETFs is that they enable investors to engage in broad market or sector investment strategies without having to decide which individual stocks to invest in. The question naturally arises: when should one sector be favoured over another? It turns out there are a two handy rules of thumb that might help investors with their deliberations.

One of the more interesting findings in Investment Trends’ latest Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) report is the high importance that many financial planners and investors place on the low cost of Australian-listed ETFs.

Given the rapid growth in the popularity and market capitalisation of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), it is hardly surprising that an Investment Trends report describes investors as "hungry" to learn more about the products.

The majority of members of super funds have their retirement savings in the default or MySuper options. This is both a strength and weakness of the Australian superannuation system.

The ageing of the population – as outlined in the latest intergenerational report – together with a growing trend to work past traditional retirement ages inevitably means more of us will want to contribute to super for longer.

Mountain peaks challenge the endurance, courage and skill of climbers. A celebration at reaching the top of a mountain – or perhaps more appropriately when you get safely back down – is both understandable and well-earned. But the sense of anticipation and celebration when a sharemarket index is within sight of or hits a new peak is a little harder to fathom.

Understandably, trustees of new self-managed super funds are typically full of optimism about what can be achieved. It’s human nature. Yet while investors are extremely enthusiastic about establishing self-managed super funds, statistics suggest they are less enthusiastic about closing them down even if their circumstances change.

No doubt, you have heard of the "sandwich generation" but what about the "dual-retirement phenomena"?

The future always looks brighter and less complicated at the start of a new AFL football season.

There are two fascinating sides to the age profile of self-managed super fund members. Both provide an insight into the future of SMSFs.

Investors are sometimes puzzled about why their own returns may be very different at times from the managed funds currently holding their money – even when seemingly carefully compared on an after-fee, after-tax basis.

Cost is a key factor in many of our purchasing decisions and while the extent of its impact on decision making may differ, we all want to ensure we are getting sufficient value for our hard earned cash.

Almost 20 years ago, two US academics published what could be described as a guide to getting rich slowly – the antithesis of the all-too-common get-rich-quick approach.

The impressive growth in the popularity and assets of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) confirms that many more investors are recognising the importance of widely diversifying their portfolios while minimising their investment costs. It can make a formidable investment combination.

Forecasts are always fraught with danger. The longer the time frame the more susceptible forecasts will be to wide variations in the range of possible outcomes. Which makes the Federal Government’s Intergenerational Report (IGR) such a fascinating exercise given it is trying to forecast what Australia will look like four decades hence.

A fundamental mistake by investors is to pay insufficient attention to their total investment management costs. In short, high investment costs weigh heavily on returns.