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David Bell

Too much jam: the consequences of choice overload

It's too simple to assume that more choice is better for consumers and investors. It can lead to indecision and inaction, and yet some platforms persist in adding dozens of funds each year to an already vast range.

Do clients understand what advisers are saying?

Financial literacy levels in Australia and around the world are worryingly low, which impacts the way financial advice is received and understood. Is the message getting through, or should advisers give clients this simple test?

ASIC’s focus on hedge funds may miss bigger picture

By focussing specifically on hedge fund disclosure, ASIC has missed an opportunity to address the bigger picture of investor protection in a world of complex investments.

Behavioural reasons why we ignore life annuities

Life annuities is a product with theoretical appeal but it does not gather significant market acceptance. These behavioural reasons need to be addressed before substantial increases in sales occur.

Why we overlook lifetime annuities

Lifetime annuities have some attractive features but remain neglected by most retirees. There are rational reasons for this, which the annuity industry has to overcome if the product is to address more longevity worries.

Why academics like lifetime annuities

Life annuities should be beneficial to rational decision-making individuals in retirement, yet in Australia the number of life annuities purchased remains small, albeit with some nascent signs of growth.

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Investment strategies

9 lessons from 2024

Key lessons include expensive stocks can always get more expensive, Bitcoin is our tulip mania, follow the smart money, the young are coming with pitchforks on housing, and the importance of staying invested.

Investment strategies

Time to announce the X-factor for 2024

What is the X-factor - the largely unexpected influence that wasn’t thought about when the year began but came from left field to have powerful effects on investment returns - for 2024? It's time to select the winner.

Shares

Australian shares struggle as 2020s reach halfway point

It’s halfway through the 2020s decade and time to get a scorecheck on the Australian stock market. The picture isn't pretty as Aussie shares are having a below-average decade so far, though history shows that all is not lost.

Shares

Is FOMO overruling investment basics?

Four years ago, we introduced our 'bubbles' chart to show how the market had become concentrated in one type of stock and one view of the future. This looks at what, if anything, has changed, and what it means for investors.

Shares

Is Medibank Private a bargain?

Regulatory tensions have weighed on Medibank's share price though it's unlikely that the government will step in and prop up private hospitals. This creates an opportunity to invest in Australia’s largest health insurer.

Shares

Negative correlations, positive allocations

A nascent theme today is that the inverse correlation between bonds and stocks has returned as inflation and economic growth moderate. This broadens the potential for risk-adjusted returns in multi-asset portfolios.

Retirement

The secret to a good retirement

An Australian anthropologist studying Japanese seniors has come to a counter-intuitive conclusion to what makes for a great retirement: she suggests the seeds may be found in how we approach our working years.

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