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1 November 2024
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Predicting your own life expectancy, planning ahead for age pension reform, changes to aged care rules from 1 July, investing in equities based on reinvestment rates, and more SMSF myths debunked.
Longer life expectancy means more of us will be living for several decades after we ‘retire’ or stop paid employment. Earning 3-4% in term deposits from age 60 will not be enough if you're still alive at 90, 100, or 120!
It's highly likely that the age pension will experience future reforms. A useful financial plan should model a reduction in pensions, rather than making an assumption that it'll be there when the money runs out.
Understanding aged care accommodation and the cost is an absolute minefield. The aged care rules are changing on 1 July 2014, and many people have four months to make plans before they are hit by higher costs.
The biggest factor over the past year in Australian equity markets has been investors focussing on dividend yields. Another, perhaps more important, issue is how much a good company reinvests in itself.
Continuing from last week's article on superannuation myths, here's another five myths relating SMSFs. Separating fact from fiction is a good first step towards effective discussion and informed policy.
There are well over 800,000 family trusts in Australia, controlling more than $3 trillion of assets. Here's a guide on whether a family trust may have a place in your individual investment strategy.
A recent industry event made me realise that a 30 year old investing trend could still have serious legs. Could it eventually pose a threat to two of Australia's biggest companies?
How have so many wealthy families through history managed to squander their fortunes? This looks at the lessons from these families and offers several solutions to making and keeping money over the long-term.
Investing guru Howard Marks says he had two epiphanies while visiting Australia recently: the two major asset classes aren’t what you think they are, and one key decision matters above all else when building portfolios.
A recent ruling from The Australian Financial Complaints Authority may herald a new era for financial scams. For the first time, a bank is being forced to reimburse a customer for the amount they were scammed.
A big age gap can make it harder to find a solution that works for both partners – financially and otherwise. Having a frank conversation about the future, and having it as early as possible, is essential.