Money Magazine March 2019

The release of the final report of the banking royal commission has certainly gone some way to resolving investor uncertainty. But did it go far enough for everyone? Some victims of misconduct have suggested that the commission should have named and shamed. Some analysts have suggested that it’s actually a win for the banks in that the recommendations won’t have a big financial impact on them – vertical integration has been left untouched. Investors clearly liked what the report recommended as the big four banks saw solid share price gains, pushing the S&P/ASX 200 to close at 6005.9, the highest point since October last year. At the time of going to the printers, though, the reality of slowing credit growth has caused investors to be cautious again, with all four…

Multiple accounts are a big waste of our savings Thank you for your publication. I look forward to it every month and it has helped build my money knowledge over the years. I have a question regarding superannuation. With so many people losing fees every year when they have more than one account, why is it that we are allowed to open so many? It is very easy to find and merge your accounts, so why isn’t this the first port of call when someone goes to open a new account? I know the super funds don’t care as they would prefer to eat away at your account with fees, but surely it benefits the government and all Australians for this not to happen? These are our retirement savings and…

It saddens me to see time and again letters from near-retirees who are shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to structuring their retirement. In December, one reader said she was advised to blow $900,000(!) to get the age pension. At her age, an annuity-style investment in growth assets could pay an income stream of $50,000-$60,000 a year for the rest of her life. Instead they prefer to buy a nice place and live off the $22,000 pension (at taxpayers’ expense), which will be quickly eaten up by stamp duty, rates and repairs. At the other end of the scale, it’s troubling to see a retiree complaining about the possible loss of $55,000 in franking credit refunds. “Earning” that level of refunds requires dividend income of at least $128,000,…

EFFIE ZAHOS Effie is Money’s editor and author of A Real Girl’s Guide to Finance and The Great $20 Adventure. Effie says: “For richer or poorer I’d probably still do what I’m doing but with a few tweaks. No boss, a three-day work week and an office in Milos, in Greece.” MARCUS PADLEY Marcus is the author of the daily sharemarket newsletter Marcus Today. Marcus says: “I would travel the world with Emma, playing golf. It is a competitive, social and endlessly challenging sport that lends itself to international travel. But most of all it is a fantastic sport for couples and, as they say, couples that play together stay together.” CHRIS GRAY Chris is CEO of Your Empire Buyers Agents. Chris says: “I invested and worked twice as hard…

EDITORIAL Chairman & chief commentator Paul Clitheroe Editor Effie Zahos Deputy Editor Maria Bekiaris Art Director Ann Loveday Designer Andrew McLagan Senior Sub-editors Bob Christensen, Debbie Duncan Senior Writers Susan Hely, Pam Walkley Online Content Producer Sharyn McCowen CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Alan Deans, Nicola Field, Chris Gray, Ross Greenwood, Greg Hoffman, Roger Montgomery, Anthony O’Brien, Shane Oliver, Marcus Padley, Vita Palestrant, Scott Phillips, Annette Sampson, Richard Scott, Phil Slade, Mark Story, Graham Witcomb CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS Philip Castleton, Eamon Gallagher, Reg Lynch, Rob Shaw, Jim Tsinganos, John Tiedemann PHOTOGRAPHS Getty Images ADVERTISING Brand Manager – Specialist Simon Park (02) 9282 8085 PRODUCTION Controller Carly Zinga Advertising Production Dominic Roy MARKETING Senior Marketing Manager Jillian Hogan Brand Manager Sarah Webster Subscriptions Jesvin Vincent, Ellie Xuereb MANAGEMENT CEO Paul Dykzeul Chief Financial Officer Andrew…

We humans are a strange breed when it comes to investment. Over the summer months, I’ve had a stack of people asking about the big drop in the sharemarket in the November to January period and even more about the fall in property values in many parts of Australia, but in particular Sydney and Melbourne. These questions are not in the least bit strange, because shares and property are important assets for most of us. But what is strange is that questions about a decline in share values are nearly always linked to “Should I sell?”. But when it comes to property the questions revolve around “Is it time to buy?”, with comments about “bargains” in the market. What is it with property? We Australians have a really deep desire…