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Edition 2

  •   15 February 2013
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Welcome from Chris Cuffe

The recent market rally has taken the total amount in superannuation past the $1.5 trillion mark, more than the GDP of the entire country. Australians have made good progress improving their retirement options, but as I said on ABC television this week, we need the pool to continue to grow.

It’s remarkable to read Paul Keating conceding that what is now the largest segment in super, SMSFs with $475 billion in assets and almost one million members, was a legislative afterthought when the current system was designed. Today he looks at why it happened.

Roger Montgomery’s advice to focus on investing rather than speculating includes the surprising fact that two-thirds of all listed companies in Australia don’t make any profit. They can’t even cover their costs. It’s a valuable warning.

Graham Hand corrects a popular myth that the government guarantee covers all individual depositors in public superannuation funds up to the $250,000 limit, and even Wayne Swan might want to check his press release.

Rick Cosier outlines the basics of superannuation that everyone should know, and we have a fascinating video by Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize winner in 2002, on his book Thinking, Fast and Slow. How do our minds work and how do we make choices?

I’m a great believer in the importance of quality financial advice, and I give you my views on what type of advice is really worth paying for. I stress, it is worth paying for. Chris

Top articles from Cuffelinks, 15 February 2013, Edition 2

  • Where did SMSFs come from, and where are they going? P J Keating
  • What financial advice is worth paying for? Chris Cuffe
  • You the speculator Roger Montgomery
  • Super misses out on the government deposit guarantee Graham Hand
  • The superannuation essentials Rick Cosier

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