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22 April 2025
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Super reforms must improve outcomes, investing for the end beneficiary or the intermediaries, measuring risk aversion, S&P benchmarks active managers, and the effects of compounding.
Much attention has been drawn recently to the high cost of the Australian superannuation system compared with pension systems overseas, with retirement outcomes often overlooked. What should we be striving for?
A study recently published by Towers Watson claims that many in the investment industry focus on looking after intermediaries at the expense of clients. And we're obsessed by short-termism and chasing alpha.
Following from the article "Our industry has a problem", Cuffelinks interviewed Tim Hodgson, the author of the study into investment industry intermediaries. He doesn't like much of what he sees.
Financial risk aversion is usually measured via a questionnaire compiled by an adviser, which provides a one-dimensional numerical measure. But this does not cover all there is to learn about a client's aversion to risk.
The SPIVA Australia Scorecard measures the performance of actively-managed funds compared with the relevant S&P indexes. Results from the most recent Scorecard are not pretty for active managers.
If you get onto the compounding bandwagon from a young age, the balance of your superannuation, as well as other savings, come retirement will astound you. It's a shame more people aren't maximising the opportunity.
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?