Part 1: The best ways to invest your super  

Super

A lot of Australians are eager to ensure their superannuation is invested wisely to maximise their balance by the time they retire. However, comparing the different super-product choices can be tricky.  Recently, there’s been increasing criticism of industry super funds, particularly regarding their oversight and transparency around unlisted investments and the role/influence of unions.   Many …

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2024: The best super fund is…

super

Once again, the last financial year has been kind to superannuation investors! Many super funds have delivered double-digit investment returns. However, not all super funds are created equal and some of the risks that I have written about in past years have come home to roost in the past 12 months.   Investment returns for the …

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How much super do you need for retirement?  

super

I frequently join James Kirby on his bi-weekly podcast hosted by The Australian newspaper. Recently, he delved into the interesting and important topic of “how much money you should have in superannuation.” I couldn’t resist the temptation to share my thoughts and insights.    How long will retirement last?   I read this article by Ashley Owen …

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Should you invest 100% of your super into shares?

super

It’s highly probable that your super is invested across various asset classes, including bonds and shares.  Nearly all investment professionals would argue that shares have the greatest probability of delivering the highest returns over the long term.  This begs the question: why wouldn’t you consider investing 100% of your super into shares?  How your super …

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Why industry super funds are less tax efficient?

The treatment of taxation liabilities hinges on the investment structure of your superannuation. That is, pooled super funds like industry funds subtract tax before it’s paid. This is an important factor to consider because, depending on the amount of your super balance, it can have a significant effect on your retirement savings. While tax implications …

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Should you invest your super in property with borrowings?  

In 2007, laws changed to allow SMSFs to borrow for property investments if they met specific compliance rules. This led to a surge in super-funded property investments from 2007 to 2017, totalling around $45 billion. However, major banks withdrew SMSF borrowing products between 2017 and 2018 and super contribution rules were tightened, making this strategy …

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Are there major changes to super on the horizon?

The Albanese government’s first Federal Budget last month was a bit of a fizzer in that there wasn’t much in the way of changes that affected investors and superannuants. However, subsequent murmurs by politicians’ hint at proposed changes that the government may be contemplating. In particular, I wanted to address these potential super changes and …

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2022 super returns: Whilst industry super fund is best?

2022 super returns: Superannuation returns for the 2021/22 financial year were mostly negative. However, we shouldn’t forget that the previous 18-month period (i.e., mid-2020 to the end of calendar year 2021) was stellar, so we must keep a longer-term perspective. And the winner is… The table below sets out investment returns for the largest 8 …

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