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25 January 2025
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The arguments no longer focus on the $3 million but there is no 30% tax on large super balances, despite what everybody including Treasury says. It's a completely new 15% tax with a unique calculation which includes unrealised capital gains.
Treasury might not realise, but it's not a 30% tax, it's a completely new tax. And payment will not be due until FY28. Taxing unrealised gains will have major implications and the lack of indexing must change.
The benefits in retirement come at the cost of consumption in prior years and this trade-off should be the focus in making reforms to super. Otherwise, the system will continue to benefit the rich at the expense of the poor.
About 20% of the $890 billion in SMSFs is allocated to cash and term deposits. While understandable to an extent, more of this money is likely to make its way into bonds given the now attractive yields on offer.
Younger people should have the option to draw on their super balance to buy a home. It is the height of hypocrisy to allow retirees to use super to reduce their mortgage but deny young people early access.
Charlie Munger is famous for applying different 'mental models' to get an edge in markets. In this vain, here's a look at how ecological niches can be applied to stock markets and may help you become a better investor.
The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act is poised to have a significant impact on the US economy, especially in the renewable energy sector. Australia is well placed given our minerals are critical to decarbonisation.
Perhaps the most consequential lesson from the pandemic for companies is that relying on single links in the global supply chain is a mistake. Here's how businesses are adjusting and the implications for investors.
The housing market was subdued in 2024, and pessimism abounds as we start the new year. 2025 is likely to be a tale of two halves, with interest rate cuts fuelling a resurgence in buyer demand in the second half of the year.
This examines the performance of key asset classes and sub-sectors in 2024 and over longer timeframes, and the lessons that can be drawn for constructing an investment portfolio for the next decade.
The renowned investor has penned his first investor letter for 2025 and it’s a ripper. He runs through what bubbles are, which ones he’s experienced, and whether today’s markets qualify as the third major bubble of this century.
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.
2024 was a banner year for equities, with a run-up in US tech stocks broadening into a global market rally, and the big question now is whether the good times can continue? History suggests optimism is warranted.
Check out the most-read Firstlinks articles from 2024. From '16 ASX stocks to buy and hold forever', to 'The best strategy to build income for life', and 'Where baby boomer wealth will end up', there's something for all.