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2 February 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.
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.
The tax benefits of holding money in an SMSF come with a responsibility to follow the rules, and the penalties can be severe for what seem like innocent or mistaken breaches.
The Royal Commission did good work but it is not above criticism: faced with limited time, it spent too long on some subjects and missed crucial issues that will impact millions.
After a year of analysing financial services like it has never been done before, the RC Final Report was released today with 76 recommendations which are expected to be adopted. What will change?
Round 5 of the Royal Commission focused on superannuation. Conflicts of interest, trustee responsibilities and delays in meeting the legal obligation to transfer default clients to MySuper products featured.
What to do if super guarantee payments from multiple employers, combined with salary sacrifice arrangements, have resulted in a breach of the concessional contribution cap.
Amid the Royal Commission words like toxicity, rot, darkness and attrition, the super industry must rebuild trust with accessible, open and candid communication, and stop scoring own goals.
The ATO has issued an update on illegal early release of super, when an SMSF is worth having, reporting obligations and trustee checklists. Make sure you stay on top of the rules.
Going through ASIC’s pronouncements and corporate plans can help gauge whether a business is at risk. Big and small AFS licensees such as non-bank planners, accountants, and life advisers will be increasingly scrutinised soon.
The existence of segregated or unsegregated assets in an SMSF determines how the tax exemption on a pension is calculated, and timing is critical.
Readers made many insightful comments about trust in financial institutions last week, and we welcome further constructive feedback about the unbelievable cash laundering through CBA ATMs.
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.
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.
Getting regular, growing income from stocks is tougher with the dividend yield on the ASX nearing 25-year lows. Here are some conventional and not-so-conventional ideas for investors wanting to build a dividend portfolio.
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.