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22 December 2024
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SMSFs v Labor franking, non-bank SME loans, disruption, business property in SMSFs, Active ETFs, 10 hints on managers, bare trusts and prospect theory.
Labor’s proposal to deny cash refunds of franking credits may become law next year. SMSFs will consider the various alternatives to minimise loss of franking credits, including the use of member-directed investments.
Changes to banking regulations have led to higher interest rates on bank loans for SMEs and personal loans, pushing borrowers towards the rapidly growing new segment of non-bank lending for faster and better service.
Markets and assets look expensive, but technology at least offers high revenue growth and fast rates of adoption. However, much of that great promise may benefit consumers more than investors.
An SMSF can buy business real property and lease it to a member and the laws and processes are clear. The rent paid is classed as income from the investment rather than a contribution from the member.
Active ETFs have many similarities with actively-managed funds, but the key differences are due to investing via an exchange versus a platform. Investors now have another option to consider.
Notwithstanding the wide variety of fund managers and fund structures vying for the investor dollar, some questions need to be asked of all of them. They help us determine the quality of the fund and the manager.
In traditional economics, utility theory assumed that investors work off probability-weighted outcomes. Prospect theory can better explain actual investor behaviour and is a better tool for designing retirement plans.
‘Single-investor’ models are convenient for a range of investments. A bare trust can be a cost-effective and simple way to let a small number of sophisticated investors access an investment through one legal entity.
It’s with heavy hearts that we announce Firstlinks’ co-founder and former Managing Editor, Graham Hand, has died aged 66. Graham was a legendary figure in the finance industry and here are three tributes to him.
Last year, I wrote an article suggesting returns from ASX stocks would trample those from housing over the next decade. One year later, this is an update on how that forecast is going and what's changed since.
Australia is in the early throes of an intergenerational wealth transfer worth an estimated $3.5 trillion. Here's a case study highlighting some of the challenges with transferring wealth between generations.
The Future Fund's original purpose was to meet the unfunded liabilities of Commonwealth defined benefit schemes. These liabilities have ballooned to an estimated $290 billion and taxpayers continue to be treated like fools.
ASFA provides a key guide for how much you will need to live on in retirement. Unfortunately it has many deficiencies, and the averages don't tell the full story of the growing gender superannuation gap.
The Big Four banks have had an extraordinary run and it’s left income investors with a conundrum: to stick with them even though they now offer relatively low dividend yields and limited growth prospects or to look elsewhere.