Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2020 i Money Magazine

If you’re reading this, you’ve already passed the first test of endurance. Surviving the financial havoc that Covid-19 has forced on all of us requires extraordinary resolve – and a focus on solutions rather than the problems. Those solutions are in your hands through this special Covid-19 edition. Our cover story (page 34) is a guide to the government concessions and financial aids available to get us through this crisis. What’s clear is that the government is having a “whatever it takes” moment. The wheels of the economy must keep turning. Some forecasts suggest that, thanks to the stimulus package, we are looking at an unemployment rate of 9% next quarter versus a horrific 17% without the government’s intervention. If your property portfolio is your most pressing concern, we’ve asked…

JULIA NEWBOULD Julia, Money’s editor-at-large, says: “Slowing down, staying home and appreciating the little things and making contact through Zoom and FaceTime with friends and family have all been positives of self-isolating, as well as seeing and hearing the neighbours more and feeling more connected to my community.” DEBBIE DUNCAN A senior sub-editor at Money, Debbie says: “A major positive has been getting off that treadmill and stopping to smell the roses. It’s allowed me to look at my life through a different lens and opened my eyes to the many things I have to be grateful for. That and not having to wait until the weekend to have a lie in.” BOB CHRISTENSEN Bob, a senior sub-editor at Money, says: “The garden has never looked so good. But the…

Among the many measures to tackle Covid-19 is the allowance of early access to super: up to $10,000 before July 1, another $10,000 before September 30. Let’s consider what it means for women. Hospitality, food and beverage and events industries have now shut down. Women represented 60% of these industries. Women also comprise 57% of the retail workforce. No income equals no super. Women’s super balances are already 42% lower than men’s, according to ASFA. If Joanne, for example, is 44 to 49 years old, she would have had only $62,000 worth of super before recent stockmarket losses. In accessing $20,000, one third of her super is gone. Post pandemic, the super outlook for women is bleak. Before hitting the “withdraw my super” button, review your government entitlements. Apply for…

Using her comedic wit, Jean Kittson takes the edge off the difficult issues families face in dealing with ageing parents. She covers living arrangements and whether your parents are suited to a retirement home, nursing home or granny flat, as well as government benefits, medical emergencies, tough discussions with siblings, living wills and other legalities. Kittson shares her own family stories (including caring for her own 90-something parents), and those of friends. They are illustrated with cartoons from her husband, the cartoonist Patrick Cook. Five readers can win a copy. In 25 words or less tell us the best financial advice you’ve received from your parents. Enter online at moneymag.com.au/win or send entries to Money, Level 7, 55 Clarence Street, Sydney, 2000. Entries open on April 27, 2020 and close…

The economic and security implications of cyber crime can be devastating, yet because it can’t always be visually represented many of us pay little attention when it takes place. A survey by Experian found that 70% of us have never heard of the high-profile cyberattacks on the Australian National University, PayID, LandMark White, Canva and Puma. Additionally, more than half of the survey group (54%) believed they had never been a victim of cyber crime. Despite this, almost half of Australians and New Zealanders believe they are responsible for protecting themselves from fraud online, while only a fifth thought that role fell with others, such as their bank. “Australian and New Zealand consumers have a clear appetite to take control of protecting themselves online, but businesses have a duty of…

The brutal fallout of Covid-19 has devastated many businesses. But one that is benefiting, at least for the time being, is Dom Woolrych’s online legal platform Lawpath. He says more people than ever are logging on for advice about thorny issues that now confront them. The uptick is even giving him confidence to continue pushing growth plans. Moves are afoot to launch the platform’s first TV and radio marketing campaign mid-year in a bid to boost subscribers further. There are also plans to raise capital and expand into Asia. “The virus will have an effect because small businesses are struggling,” says Woolrych. “The majority of our clients are small businesses. That said, in the last four days we have had the largest revenues in our history. That’s because people are…

It’s great for any son or daughter when their parent or parents actively put their hand up to help get their child or children into the property market, especially given the high price of properties in our established cities. Let’s look at some of the options Mary is proposing to help Jess out right now: Buy a townhouse for around $500,000-$600,000 in her name and then transfer it to Jess’s name when Jess can afford the full repayments Mary has collateral and equity in her own home that will mean she doesn’t need a cash deposit, a promising start, but ... well, there are couple of big “buts”. First, can she afford to cover a big mortgage by herself, especially while Jess is studying and has two young children as…

Paul’s verdict: Your secure income will buy more investment valueAt 30 you have time in your favour Well, Robert, since you emailed me, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge! It would have been difficult for us to paint this scenario just a couple of months ago, but here we are. For nearly 40 years, my thoughts on money issues have been based on commonsense, an acceptance that risk and return are a pure money truth and a pretty good understanding of economic history. My focus is also very much on long-term outcomes, where history gives us reasonable certainty. So my advice to you today is not a lot different from what it would have been before Covid-19, but a global pandemic certainly means we need to look…

• A partner who limits employment options, even forbidding particular types of employment or working with other people. • Forbidding study or the opportunity for the partner to better themselves. • Withholding money or only providing a small allowance. • Withholding basic living resources including medication and food. • Extreme monitoring of purchases, including checking receipts. • Period poverty: no purchase of sanitary products, which forces women to stay home. • Threatening to cut off financial support if the other person doesn’t meet all demands. • •Not Hiding allowing money them from to their have partner a . bank account. • Racking up debts on behalf of the other person.…

When I first got my driver’s licence there were no smartphones and no GPS, only old-school maps. Whenever I went somewhere unknown, I would pull out the street directory and plan the trip before I started to drive. Even when I had a car full of friends, I would make them wait until I had enough certainty and confidence to head off. Without certainty about the route to follow, I wouldn’t feel confident enough to drive off into the unknown. This is similar to how we treat our finances in times of uncertainty. It’s as though our brains raise the stakes – like a high-stakes poker game. When under stress our financial decision-making looks similar to the way we make decisions when gambling. Without the certainty of an outcome in…

Have you ever thought about who will look after your kids if something happens to you and your partner? This is one of the responsibilities that comes with being parents. While many find it straightforward, others agonise over the choice of guardian. A guardian is an adult who looks after the welfare and upbringing of a child. The guardian can take care, custody and control of the child. A guardian holds the legal authority and can direct their wishes to others who have the control of the child. The best place to record your choice of guardian is in your will. If you don’t have a will, the decision as to who will be the guardian can be made for you, possibly by a court. Looking after the care and…

THE STORY SO FAR The Covid-19 pandemic has not just impacted our health. It has changed the way we live and generated a seismic shift in world economies – a bit like stepping through Alice’s looking glass. Until March, Australia’s main employment problem seemed to be getting the unemployment rate under 5%. In February, the last month of the “old normal”, it came in at 5.1%, where it had been holding steady for the past three months. Within weeks, the world had changed and predictions were rife that it would top 10% and could go much higher. Footage of Depression-era queues outside Centrelink offices were a frightening reminder that our comfortable existence was much more tenuous than we had thought. Enter the federal government with a plan to limit unemployment…

In times of great uncertainty, such as we are experiencing now, it pays to keep in mind that things will inevitably improve. This also applies to our property investments. Undoubtedly property investors are currently in a better position than sharemarket investors, who have seen falls of about 30% in share prices in the past couple of months amid extreme volatility. But it would be unrealistic to think the housing market will not be hit too, especially since unemployment is likely to go through the roof, potentially triggering a deep recession. We could see value falls of 20%, maybe more, but for both investors and home owners who can hold on this will only be for a time – though whether it will be short or medium term is impossible to…

Infrastructure assets include what we would describe as assets essential to a properly functioning economy – think airports, toll roads and utilities. These are capital-intensive assets that are long-dated and exhibit highly predictable cash flows. For these reasons they are considered defensive. The virus has laid bare several issues and one of them, in our view, is the defensiveness of some asset classes. Covid-19 is no ordinary exogenous shock. It has brought the global economy close to a stop or, in some regions, a complete shutdown. Infrastructure has not been spared in the selloff. For the first quarter of 2020, listed global infrastructure (hedged) is down about 19%, the S&P/ASX 200 Index down about 23% and global equities (hedged) also down about 23%. Within the infrastructure asset class, utilities and…

AustralianSuper has introduced a “default” product for those rolling over into pension phase. It aims to make the process easier. Called Smart Default, it invests 88% of your money in a balanced portfolio and 12% in cash. The cash component is designed to help you settle into retirement and cover your income needs and any unexpected expenses for the first two years. Your income is drawn from the cash component and then topped up from the balanced portfolio as it reaches zero. You will be paid every two weeks and you will receive the annual minimum payment amounts set by the federal government (see table). You are not locked into this arrangement and have the option of choosing your own investment strategy and payment options. Tom Garcia, head of product…

Australians are all dressed up but we have nowhere to go. Many of us are working from home. This is now the new normal in the coronavirus-infected world we live in as our governments, one after another, halt most businesses and limit social interaction to bare necessities – like shopping for toilet paper and booze (in Australia) and guns (in the US). But digressing from this flippant observation, the toll in human lives, our personal wealth and our retirement savings is no laughing matter. Left unchecked and unanswered, this microscopic organism will eat into our health, our lives and our cheque books. Central banks around the planet have been doing their bit. This remains subject to debate but while their accommodative policies – negative/zero interest rates, quantitative easing and bond…

YOUR GUIDE TO MANAGED FUNDS DATA The tables on these pages contain data and information to help you compare managed funds, which are pooled funds managed professionally by investment experts. Managed funds displayed in these tables are multi-sector or asset class specific. Multi-sector managed funds invest across a diversified mix of asset types spanning equities, property, bonds, cash, infrastructure, private equity and alternatives. Managed funds are normally set up as unit trusts. You may be able to invest in them directly or through a platform. These products may be recommended to you by a financial adviser. The performance results displayed are the annualised investment returns each managed fund has delivered after taking into account taxes paid by the unit trust and investment fees. Research was prepared by Rainmaker Information…

Perceptions of bias I was less than convinced by Peter’s letter (April edition) alleging a bias towards ethical funds on the part of Money. The magazine publishes an immense breadth of articles on all manner of strategies. The only bias I have ever detected is towards the best interests of the readership. As to Peter’s view that coal mines are good for poor people, and his anecdotes citing the supposed benevolence of a US oil and gas company he worked for, little more need be said as to who is in possession of a biased perspective. Patrick What life is really about I have been a subscriber to Money for a few years now. As a small investor who has made many mistakes along the way, it has been wonderfully…

As I write this in early April, the All Ordinaries index has had a nice rally from its year low of 4564 to around 5400. Markets do tend to move as a predictor of the future, so right now they are obviously factoring in the falling infection and death rates in Italy and Spain, cheap oil, a low Aussie dollar and, in particular, the impact “staying at home” is having in Australia. Oh, and of course, billions of dollars of government support. Like you, I can only listen to the medical experts when it comes to the course of Covid-19, but one thing is for sure. We are learning, as happened with the Spanish flu in 1918-20, that isolation can control the horrible thing. How and when we are able…

The problem with Covid-19 is that it is affecting every aspect of our lives and, as well posing a serious health threat, there is also a real wealth threat. In the face of all this, people may start to lose financial confidence. However, along with providing strategic advice, financial advisers can help you regain a sense of control. Traditionally, advisers help you define your goals and put in place a long-term financial plan to achieve them. This plan does not have to be abandoned in the face of Covid-19, but it may have to be put to one side for a time in order to focus on what needs to be done here and now. For example, we can help you to make a decision about whether or not to…

Focusing on what we can do to tackle climate change, this app allows you to join in daily actions to cut your carbon footprint and see the collective impact in the world. You can follow groups around the globe to see what they are doing to help the cause. From a local clothes swap group and no-plastics movement to a compost-sharing street, this app gives you the opportunity to connect with like-minded people. On signing in, you can create a Ripple Code to encourage others to reduce their carbon footprint and you can follow the results of your influence. There are tips on the greenest power company, minimising food waste, recipes, ethical banking, what to plant now and cutting energy costs by, for example, running your pool pump an hour…

Contrary to being the “smashed avocado” generation, young Australians are forgoing some of life’s luxuries, such as holidays and socialising, to save up for a first home deposit in 2020, according to research commissioned by Lendlease. Such is their determination to own a home, 24% have taken up a side hustle to make it happen. “Lifestyle still matters, but at the same time they’re not throwing away a desire to own a home,” says social trends commentator Claire Madden. For millennials, home ownership means much the same as it has for past generations. “Younger generations want a home of their own because it’s a marker of independence and security,” she says. Millennials are also willing to give up the dream location to get their foot in the property market. “They’re looking at the…

Crises such as Covid-19 often serve as drivers of innovation. Take the GFC , for example. Despite technology companies suffering budget cuts of 20%-30%, during its worst quarter Salesforce.com, the software company, lifted revenue by 20%. Similarly, Amazon sales grew 14% in its worst quarter despite falls in retail sales. “In the early days of a bear market, while innovation does gain traction the stocks associated with disruptive innovation tend to under-perform,” says Catherine Wood, from ARK Invest in the US. “In a risk-off environment, benchmark-sensitive investors sell innovation-oriented stocks as they seek ‘safety’ in the benchmarks against which they are measured.” For this reason, Wood believes that innovation-focused portfolios can serve as important hedges against benchmark-sensitive and passive strategies. “Digital wallets are likely to undermine bank branches and other…

Bluey is keen to live in his own apartment, but … Now is not the right time to buy Q I am 48 years old, medically retired with a wife and a young child just starting school. My wife does not receive an income as she is not working. I want to buy an apartment to call our own. I am open to using it as an investment and renting elsewhere. The asking price of this apartment is about $510,000. I have access to my super of $540,000. I have shares worth $310,000, with $50,000 owing on the leverage account, so $260,000 of those shares are mine and paid for. I also have $270,000 in a cash bank account. The only bills I have are for rent, food and other…

I am 30 years old working in a stable government job earning about $120,000 gross. I have about $125,000 in a self-managed share portfolio (ASX traded) that includes some broad international exchange traded funds, $25,000 in an international managed fund, $60,000 in peer-to-peer lending and $100,000 cash. I have no debts and about $1000 a month in outgoings. I add $250pm to my international managed fund, $200pm to P2P lending, $160pm to super and save $1600pm cash. I have a partner and all finances are kept separate and there is no plan to marry or have children in the near future. I have no immediate plans to buy property, but in the next five years would like to own something. I plan to add another $25,000 to my self-managed share…

More than 40% of calls to elder abuse hotlines are related to elder financial abuse. The Financial Services Council (FSC) says older women are at most risk, and children abusing their parents is the most common form of elder financial abuse. Abuse is also common from other relatives, friends, spouses and carers either at the victim’s home or in aged care facilities. • If you have a friend or relative who is a victim of financial abuse and they reject your help, keep checking in on them and direct them to 24/7 support services like 1800 737 732 (RESPECT).…

The proverb “health is wealth” holds great significance in 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic is changing the way we think about these essential facets of our lives, but it’s as important as ever to pay close attention to both. In April, Australia’s chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, said that a lot of people with chronic diseases and conditions other than Covid-19 were not attending their regular medical check-ups. “Our doctors are very quiet, they don’t mind being quiet, but they’re very worried that people are so frightened that they’re not seeking medical attention. This is a really concerning issue,” says Murphy. “We’ve set up telehealth facilities so you can have a telephone or a video conference with your doctor or you can go and see your doctor. The risk is fine…

• Count your blessings. Look at what have rather than what you may have lost or missed out on, as this helps lower emotion and brings you into a more rational headspace. • Think in three time frames. Ask yourself what the impact of your decision will be in one week. In three months? In 12 months? This mental trick creates distance and perspective, allowing “tomorrow’s you” to judge today’s decision. • Connect. Connecting with people is so important for psychological safety. During enforced self-isolation and social distancing, use video chat software and reach out to your contacts. The more you try it, the more comfortable you will be doing it, and the better off you will be. • Talk about big financial decisions with those you trust. This helps…

The past few months have dished up plenty of hits to the small business sector. After a tough summer of drought and bushfires, the businesses face what could be their toughest test yet. Research by online lender OnDeck Australia shows 86% of small businesses have been impacted by Covid-19, with one in two severely affected. Many owners may assume they’re covered by insurance. The reality, though, could be different. Insurance simply won’t come to the rescue of many businesses. Part of the problem is that among Australia’s 800,000-plus small businesses, one in four have no business insurance at all. This is a particular concern because a survey by insurer QBE found 87% of owners agree that a liability claim could put them out of business. If faced with a claim,…

If you’ve recently lost your job, there are several options to keep you job hunting productively during a pandemic. The first thing to do is make some decisions about a new direction for your career – several financial advisers and money and life coaches tell me you won’t make much progress unless you know where it is you want to be. Ask yourself whether you want to jump straight back into the workforce. Do you want to do the same job you had before? What are you prepared to do? Also think about whether your next job is likely to be short term or long term. When you’re ready to work again, expect the application process to take longer now. Employers will take their time because conversations around working-from-home arrangements…

1 Pinnacle BNY Mellon Global Infrastructure Yield Fund The BNY Mellon global infrastructure strategy seeks to deliver a 6% gross yield by investing in infrastructure and real-asset businesses with stable income characteristics and the potential for capital growth. The fund can invest in a wider set of assets, which include what some may consider “non-traditional” infrastructure (for example, broadband, hospitals, aged care). This increases the opportunity set from 75 to 500 names. 2 UBS Clarion Global Infrastructure Securities Fund Sub-advised by CBRE Clarion, this fund draws upon CBRE’s global infrastructure platform to gain insights into market trends, investment risk and valuations. It derives its information edge via its direct and listed infrastructure platform and proprietary VISTA valuation models to compare equities globally. This gives it an edge over…

As the coronavirus pandemic cuts a swathe through the economy, wiping out whole industries and leaving a mounting number of Australians jobless, workers are taking stock of their financial situation. To keep businesses and households afloat, the federal government has rolled out a number of rescue packages, including temporary early access to super. Eligible fund members can access a tax-free withdrawal of $10,000 up to June 30, 2020, and a further $10,000 from July 1, 2020, until September 24, 2020. The money will not affect Centrelink and Veterans’ Affairs payments. However, you can only make one withdrawal application for each period. Consequently, if you withdraw less than $10,000 in the first round but find it doesn’t stretch far enough, you cannot go back for an additional top-up. Treasury estimates that…

What extraordinary times. What an extraordinary correction. The corona crash. I don’t think any of us have seen this sort of correction before. Straight down 38% in 22 days. You had to act fast, very fast. Then the bounce, up 22% in 13 days. You had to act even faster. In this correction, some fund managers will crack champagne at a 1% outperformance over a year. The Marcus Today growth fund, which manages $40 million, outperformed more than 20% in just over six weeks. It’s been an extraordinary moment for us and our investors. Of course, it’s been part luck; of course, we could get it wrong tomorrow. But it has also been part experience and part having the cold, unemotional detachment to make significant, unconventional decisions, quickly. I’ve learnt…

A pandemic is a heck of a thing. Its impact on the financial markets was unexpected and its size and duration are unknown. When I wrote about the financial sector of the ASX in this column last year, I noted the reasonably poor performance of our banks and insurers over the previous one and five years. Almost on a dime, share prices started to rise (you’re welcome). But then came Covid-19. The impact on share prices was sudden and savage. Slower to come was the decision by the banking regulator, APRA, to “encourage” banks to defer or reduce dividends, and the subsequent different actions taken by the banks themselves. This sector is far from the only one that was hit for six by the pandemic, of course. But given the…

What was your first job? I was a journalist in Washington, DC, first and then in Paris, covering politics. I’ve always wanted to be a journalist, since I was a little boy, but after a few years I became a bit frustrated trying to find out why politicians weren’t making decisions. Then I had the opportunity to move to the administrative floor and got involved in the business side of media and found it much more creative, and I never left. I became a publisher, but I missed writing so I became known in the company for producing the best-written corporate memos. The journalistic background helped me in my business to understand the creative side and the importance of the content and the people who create the content. What’s the…

Money magazine has really put the “personal” into personal finance for me over the past decade. It’s very easy to get glossy-eyed when you read about, or hear people talk about, personal finance, but your relatable magazine has provided me with actionable ways to increase my knowledge of products, budget more effectively and build a financially secure future. It has been amazing to see the results over the years following a number of small, incremental improvements that I gleaned from your magazine, whether it was changing my mortgage repayments from monthly to fortnightly, investing in equities, writing a will or getting out of consumer debt. I find the case studies invaluable, paying particular attention to the readers in my age group for actions I should take now but also keeping…

The wide-ranging impact of Covid-19 on the economy can be highlighted in many ways. But two stories on the Money website in March drew my attention to some major financial pain points among individuals. A great summary of the federal government’s JobKeeper payment by Susan Hely had received more than 50 comments (as at April 4) – and all of them were questions about whether people qualified for the payment. We weren’t in a position to answer who qualified as the rulebook hadn’t been fully written. But the questions reminded me how compassionate we need to be as a nation. Consider the woman who works casually and was paid cash-in-hand for five years until August 2019, after which she became officially on the books. She will not be eligible because…

Jane Hume, a Liberal senator for Victoria and former policy adviser at AustralianSuper, has denounced mergers between super funds with similar membership bases, believing it can make them weak. She says smaller funds should instead look to emulate larger funds such as AustralianSuper and Sunsuper. “Failure to diversify fund membership can be as dangerous as failure to diversify investments,” she says. MLC Wealth is waiving licensee fees for all of its aligned financial advisers to alleviate the uncertainty stemming from Covid-19. “Our responsibilities are vastly different to recent memory or what we thought 2020 would bring. I know you’re wearing many hats – business owner, adviser, employer, parent, carer and community member – with demands changing daily,” MLC Wealth chief executive Geoff Lloyd told them. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has moved…

Many people are working from home for an extended period. However, this comes with its own challenges, not least the additional costs that it imposes on employees. So is it possible to claim a tax deduction for any of these extra costs? Happily, the answer is yes. Your claims can include the work-related proportions of household costs such as: heating, cooling and lighting bills; cost of cleaning your home working area; depreciation of office equipment and computers; cost of repairing home office equipment, furniture and furnishings; small capital items such as furniture and computer equipment costing less than $300, which can be written off in full immediately; computer consumables (like printer ink) and stationery; phone (mobile and/or landline) and internet expenses. Ideally, you should have a specific room set aside…

Mary has obviously worked hard to get herself into a good position, and I wouldn’t like to see her compromise this position too greatly at this stage of her life. I always understand the desire to assist children, but our own retirement needs must be considered – after all, Mary doesn’t want to become a burden to Jess down the track if her own funds run out. It is unlikely that a bank will allow Mary to become a guarantor for a loan for Jess unless there is a benefit to Mary. This means that a lender would be looking to see what Mary gets out of this. She would need to gain a benefit: either income and equity from the property or a place to live, which would require…

I am drawn to travel books for the same reason I am drawn to travel itself. I want to know something I didn’t know before. There are elements of archaeology in raking over the coals of another place and era – and sometimes it takes the passing of years for a work to be fully appreciated. The Snow Leopard (Peter Matthiessen) In this account set in Nepal in 1978, Matthiessen looks for an elusive, almost mystical creature spotted only rarely in the Himalayas. It’s cosmic poetry on one hand, wildlife on the other. Slow Boats to China (Gavin Young) A former war correspondent for Britain’s Observer newspaper, Young makes his way with curiosity on crafts big and small to places we know and some we’ll never reach. A…

1 Create a master document of all suppliers such as insurances, utilities, bank accounts, loan information and subscriptions including website/phone/email, log-in details and passwords to instantly access all your financial information. 2 Document via email to a third person all the ways in which you believe you are being financially abused. Be clear and concise as this becomes an important document for future use with banks and courts.  3 Order a copy of your personal credit file and put a monitoring alert on it. 4 Gather all information about your partner’s financial situation and document it, email it to a third party or a different email address. 5 Set up a new web-based email address that your partner doesn’t know about. 6 Seek professional help. 7 Set up a Dropbox or Google storage folder with…

‘All the banks should provide the same competitive rate cut so everyone benefits’ With the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak catching us all by surprise, the banks swiftly extended a helping hand to their customers through mortgage deferrals and lower interest payments for new businesses. With millions of Australians out of a job or with drastically reduced income, such assistance is a godsend, particularly for those with little or no savings. But with medical experts suggesting the pandemic could last for months and the global economy looking set for a major recession (or depression), I wonder if banks can do more to help support their customers through the crisis. I’ve listed several tips here about how customers can solve some of their money worries with their bank’s help next to…

Far too many Australians die without a will – 45% of us, in fact. Or we prepared one years ago and it is now out of date. If you’re putting off organising your will, perhaps it’s because you can’t decide who to appoint as a guardian for your children or who should be the executor; or you want to get your finances in order first; or you need to get your assets valued. If you don’t yet have a will, which means you die “intestate”, it can prove to be a nightmare for family and friends, says the Law Institute of Victoria. “If you do not have a will, your estate will be distributed according to a formula set out by the law.” You may assume your property will go…

It can be disappointing to learn that your business cover offers no direct protection against the impact of Covid-19. Nonetheless, Bizcover’s Michael Gottlieb says there are other associated risks that business owners can insure against. Cyber attacks As more employees work from home, Gottlieb says it makes sense to be sure your business has proper cyber security measures in place. “An interruption to your network can have a devastating impact.” In fact, insurance giant CGU says cyber attack is one of the leading risks for Australia’s small-to-medium businesses, and companies that employ between one and 250 staff are most at risk. The average cost of a cyber incident in Australia is in excess of $250,000, so if your team is working remotely cyber insurance is worth a look. Management liability…

It’s a tragic irony that some of the country’s most beautiful areas to live are often the same ones most exposed to disaster. For many this is a risk worth taking, and it’s a risk that can be mitigated with the right insurance plan. The bushfires that raged in summer underscore the need to not only have home insurance but to have the right home insurance. Like all insurance, the cost and level of home cover is directly related to the risk the policy poses to the insurer. Knowing the finer details of bushfire insurance can help you pick up the pieces and rebuild without shouldering an undue financial burden. How the risk is rated In 2009, following the Black Saturday fires in Victoria, the building code was changed to…

Covid-19 led us to panic-buy at the supermarket and to panic-sell on the sharemarket. As uncertainty around this global pandemic continues, Australia’s economy will remain turbulent. Watching and acting on daily sharemarket price movements can soon become your worst enemy in uncertain times. What we do know is that expert advice always tells us to stay the course when it comes to investing, unless your financial situation and life circumstances absolutely warrant selling up. Jonathan Shead, head of investments, Australia, at State Street Global Advisors, says one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a long-term investor is to fall into the trap of trading individual stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs) daily (that is, trying to time the market). “ETFs (like all shares) do allow you to trade…

• INDIVIDUALS Anyone unemployed. Those receiving various social security payments: job seeker payments, youth allowance for jobseekers, parenting payments, farm household allowances. Those who in the period from January 1, 2020 were made redundant or had their working hours reduced by 20% or more. • SOLE TRADERS Had their business suspended. Or experienced a reduction in business turnover of 20%. • TO APPLY You must apply directly to the tax office via the myGov website. You will need to certify that you meet the eligibility criteria and you do not need to apply to your fund directly. The ATO will determine the merits of your application and notify your fund, which must then pay you without delay. This process is simpler and more streamlined than the current financial hardship process. • DIY SUPER FUNDS…

• Stop looking at the trees. The forest is on the move. For us this meant turning our focus to asset allocation (cash or equities) rather than individual stocks. Sometimes you have to look up from the trees. • Be Spock. Unemotionally watch the emotional. There’s no room for emotion in the stockmarket. • Be flexible. Be prepared to change your mind constantly. Don’t allow pride or reputation to pervert the mix.  • Watch the herd. You need to know what the herd is thinking, what the herd is running with, and through that what may turn its head and hence what it may spot when it turns its head. • Encourage opinion. There is some colourful stuff in volatile times. Tolerate every perspective. • Nod a lot. You don’t…

The outlook for financials has perhaps not been so uncertain since the GFC (and before that, when, in the early 1990s, Westpac briefly flirted with oblivion). The “banks for yield” trade has been put on hold, but if they can recover from the virus largely intact their prices might be attractive for the long term. Still, the risk makes them hard to tap as being the best offerings in this sector. And the buy-now-pay-later mobs have promise, but it’s still unfulfilled, making them equally hard to choose here. That leaves insurers and last year’s winner, Macquarie. In a very tight race, and despite the short term being uncertain, Insurance Australia Group’s lack of exposure to some of the most worrying risks of the pandemic give it this year’s gong.…

Putting aside its seriousness momentarily, this chapter in history will be remembered for its impact on family life, for home schooling, for social distancing and washing hands, for lobster at $30 each and perhaps even for the nonsense of hoarding toilet paper. From a financial perspective, however, it should be seen as another of those rare but ultimately brief periods that occur roughly once every decade, when high-quality businesses can be purchased at extraordinary prices. If you can see a crisis developing – a reliable sign is the absence of value accompanied by insane prices for novelty business ideas – it is wise to raise cash, as we did in our domestic funds, and simultaneously reduce the “beta”, or the riskiness of the portfolio, by rotating towards companies that are…

Didier has successfully launched more than 30 magazines worldwide, including Vogue, Grazia and Elle in the US, Australia and in 10 Asian countries. His business has taken him to China 300 times, 220 times to South Korea, 200 to Japan and 100 to other Asian countries. His experiences have included the highs and lows of travel and mixing with the rich and famous. But when he started his own business, he found it was tough going out on his own. He has recently written From Front Row to Front Cover about his experiences.…