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18 April 2025
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The Design and Distribution Obligations (DDO) come into effect in two weeks. They will change the way banks promote products, force some small funds to close to new members and push issues into the listed space.
The Australian Taxation Office has issued a directive about the top five errors in SMSF annual returns. Although many leave these to an administrator, it's worth knowing what's happening behind the scenes.
The best way to preserve your SMSF’s favoured status is to make sure the fund’s annual return reaches the ATO on time. There are new rules this year that every SMSF trustee should know.
APRA is pushing for executive remuneration to move to non-financial metrics, which will lead to poor outcomes for all stakeholders. Investors should resist and vote against such measures at AGMs.
Thanks to the Royal Commission, everybody is aware of the problems with vertical integration and in-house conflicts for financial advisers. What should advisers and their clients look for?
SMSFs are useful retirement vehicles, but there are rules to follow which can easily be overlooked in haste. Run your eyes over the next five rules in this continuing list.
Recent legal cases involving Westpac and BT put to rest any view that 'caveat emptor' (buyer beware) applies to 'no' and 'general' advice service models, even though those models do not attract a best interests duty.
It is better for management and regulatory bodies to work together to preserve the innovative engines of Facebook and Google, not impose painful government intervention.
Labor is proposing to cap at $3,000 the amount that can be claimed as a tax deduction for managing tax affairs. There are many circumstances where taxpayers need to spend more than this.
Australia's major banks face many challenges but they are strong and remarkably adaptive and resilient. They have also finally accepted they are too big to behave badly.
A recent case highlights the importance of SMSF trustees exercising discretion to pay death benefits in good faith, with real and genuine consideration and in accordance with the purpose of the conferred power.
An inducement offer by a super fund is currently active, and it is creating confusion about what marketing is permissible, given that previously, regulators held such to be in violation of the sole purpose test.
The intergenerational wealth transfer, largely driven by a housing boom, exacerbates economic inequality, stifles productivity, and impedes social mobility. Solutions lie in addressing the housing problem, not taxing wealth.
With an election due by 17 May, we are effectively in campaign mode with the Government announcing numerous spending promises since January and the Coalition often matching them. Here's what the election means for investors.
With fixed term deposit rates declining and bank hybrids being phased out, what are the best options for investors seeking income? This goes through the choices, and the opportunities and risks involved.
The S&P 500's recent correction raises concerns about a bear market. History shows corrections are driven by high rates, unemployment, or global shocks, and that there's reason for optimism for nervous investors today.
The famed investor says the rapid switch from globalisation to trade wars is the biggest upheaval in the investing environment since World War Two. And a new world requires a different investment approach.
Trump's tariffs and China's retaliatory strike have sent the Nasdaq into a bear market with the S&P 500 not far behind. What are the implications for the economy and markets, and what should investors do now?