December quarter 2023 Markets rallied to close out the year as hopes of a soft landing once more came to the fore. Bond yields fell as central banks signalled a pause and markets began to price in a potential path for rate cuts. This spurred a rally in bonds and propelled developed markets equities back…
Is it smarter to pay down a mortgage or invest? The answer depends on a range of factors. Many borrowers don’t have the financial capacity to make additional repayments on their loans, especially during times when interest rates are rising. However, some borrowers are in the position of having accumulated savings and regular surplus income…
ETFs and LICs may appear to be similar products, but they’re very different. Australian investors, like many investors around the world, are increasingly turning to listed products that give them instant exposure to shareholdings in a large number of companies. For many, the products of choice are exchange traded funds (ETFs) that invest in every…
The Reserve Bank has stated is has a low tolerance for a slower return of inflation to its target band. Interest rate movements are difficult to predict. The Reserve Bank (RBA) board will meet again on Tuesday 7 November to determine its next rates move – once again on the same day millions of Australians…
Share markets remain jittery. Should investors be worried about the October effect? October has a notorious reputation for being a bad month for investors. In fact, if you search for media articles written over the past fortnight you will find plenty of references to “the October effect”, linking the month of October to past share…
The number of retired Australians is set to surge, and so will demand for retirement advice. Regardless of where you are on life’s journey, good advice is always valuable. Whether it’s buying your first car, your first house or preparing for retirement – getting advice can help validate your plans or steer you around pitfalls…
While there’s no share market crystal ball, these real-time volatility indexes provide a gauge on investor sentiment about the future. Daily fluctuations in individual share prices are totally normal, but when share markets as a whole become more volatile it can be quite unsettling for many investors. It should come as no surprise that there…
A growing number of Australians are downsizing their home to fund their retirement. Here’s the latest data from the ATO on use of the downsizer measure. Vanguard’s recently released How Australia Retires study found that Australians with the highest confidence about their future retirement tend to take the most purposeful action to prepare. For some Australians that…
Most Australian work hard to build up their nest egg but many are hesitant to spend it when they retire. You’ve worked hard to build your retirement nest egg and now the time has come or is approaching for you to begin the “decumulation phase”—taking withdrawals in retirement to live off your accumulated assets. This…
With only a few weeks left in this financial year, time is running out to maximise your super options. Outside of our home, the amount we have in superannuation savings is often our second-biggest investment asset. With the end of the financial year fast approaching, now is a good time to check your super options,…