Posted in Capital Gains

Trusts and the New Super Tax Rules Ensuring you’ve structured your finances tax-effectively is always a concern, but with new tax rules for super on the horizon, many people with large balances are considering alternative vehicles to save for retirement. Unsurprisingly, this has sparked a renewed interest in an old favourite – trusts. Trusts have always been popular in Australia, with the government’s Tax Avoidance Taskforce (Trusts) estimating more than one million&...

How do interest rates affect your investments? Interest rates are an important financial lever for world economies. They affect the cost of borrowing and the return on savings, and it makes them an integral part of the return on many investments. It can also affect the value of the currency, which has a further trickle-down effect on other investments. So, when rates are low they can influence more business investment because it is cheaper to borrow. When rates are high or rising, economic ...

Retirement is a phase of life most of us look forward to. It’s a chance to pursue other interests, travel and maybe do some part-time work or volunteering. Thanks to more than 30 years of compulsory superannuation, we are also retiring with more savings than previous generations and have higher expectations of the lifestyle we wish to enjoy. But that also brings its challenges. According to the government’s Retirement Income Review, the average age of retirement in Australia is ...

The Road Ahead for Shares Trying to time investment markets is difficult if not impossible at the best of times, let alone now. The war in Ukraine, rising inflation and interest rates and an upcoming federal election have all added to market uncertainty and volatility. At times like these investors may be tempted to retreat to the ‘’safety” of cash, but that can be costly. Not only is it difficult to time your exit, but you are also likely to miss out on any upswing that f...

SMSFs on the defensive: Is it time to revisit your strategy? Self-managed super funds (SMSFs) have had a challenging year, with COVID-19 linked market uncertainty affecting income and returns. But SMSF trustees haven’t been sitting on their hands. One of the main reasons people give for wanting to establish an SMSF is to have greater control of their investments and taking control of a difficult situation is exactly what they’ve been doing.   Changes to asset allocation ...