Investor Corner

Notes and discussion on all issues facing those seeking to earn a return by investing their money

Should we rethink traditional approaches to home ownership?

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“Too many people bought too much house for too many years”. That is a quote from a New York Times article, published recently. The article looked at the impact of housing on the financial crisis from the point of view of a person in the United States. From here in Australia, the “seven new rules” … Read more

Why Industry Funds are good “Default Funds” in awards

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There has been quite a bit of debate in recent times on various clauses in various “Awards” as they relate to superannuation.

Some argue that this takes away “member choice” and that it unfairly promotes “industry funds” (i have not used capital letters, as i have not investigated whether all awards with these provisions specifically relate to funds that are members of the Industry Funds marketing group). However, i would argue that this is in fact a very good basic step to take in many cases….

“Industry Funds” – Compare the pair

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Just a moment please, while i don my titanium-lined protection suit… Members of the super fund industry are particularly sensitive at the moment, so anything that i may say here will undoubtedly be taken incorrectly, misquoted or distorted in some other way. Previous attempts to bring a bit of plain English to the super funds … Read more

Should the Government control how your super is invested?

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There is currently no specific direction provided by Government regulation (ignoring very specialised situations) on where a super fund must invest money. There is a requirement instead that the Trustee ensured the fund assets are appropriate to meet its obligations to fund members (that’s my interpretation of far more technical wording). Over time there have … Read more

Ever been told the story about ‘the Herd’?

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It is not a new story. It’s just the old adage about investors and the trends of markets resembling a “herd” of like-minded folk. Most often portrayed as sharing a common delusion in regards to where they are headed. Quite often the story includes images of the herd merrily stampeding off a cliff, while a … Read more

But who’s thinkin’ aboot the Bebe?

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It is a favourite parody scene from some of my favourite comedies – in the midst of a terrible turmoil there is someone runing from pillar to post, pulling out their hair while yelling (usually with an enforced accent), “but what about the baby?” It may be a long bow to draw any similarity but … Read more