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Experts are calling for law reform as the ATO pursues family trusts for innocent mistakes.

The family trust blunder that could send you bankrupt

The tax office is scrutinising family trust distributions dating back decades. Some trustees have been shocked to receive bills worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

When a founder starts selling large blocks of stock it’s rarely random.

Four signs a founder-led company isn’t worth the hype

Investors love charismatic disruptors, but backing the wrong one can be harmful to your wealth.

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Six tips for outsmarting the dirtiest trick in real estate

Underquoting costs would-be buyers time, money and heartache, but they can beat the notorious ploy with free tools and simple strategies.

The pension is a much  bigger bucket of money in retirement that you might think.

You are (much) wealthier than you know, thanks to an $897,610 perk

The aged pension means every couple in Australia is already a millionaire – they just don’t know it. Here’s how we worked that out and what it means for you.

April

The crackdown is associated with what are known as family trust elections and the payment of distributions tax dating back to 1998.

‘It’s all pervasive’: ATO’s blitz on family trusts threatens financial ruin

Wealthy families are being hit with bills for unpaid taxes and penalties worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

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For the first time in recent memory, global capital is reconsidering its default destination.

Bungled US supremacy quest may create investor opportunities elsewhere

Global investors now have a viable alternative to simply parking their savings in the US.

Lisa Chew, photographed at home in Canberra, describes the financial strategies she used to stay afloat after her husband’s death.

My husband died at age 37. Here’s how I survived financially

Last-minute changes to super and estate planning allowed Lisa Chew to manage the family finances once her husband was gone.

It’s widely accepted by many researchers that, for investors, a loss feels roughly twice as bad as an equal-size gain feels good.

What a quarter of a century of ASX data shows about timing the market

By missing the 20 best days, your total return on $10,000 invested over 25 years would have been more than halved to a seriously disappointing $26,916.

AFR

Signs your partner is hiding money (and what to do about it)

Divorce proceedings are littered with lies about wealth, including the bizarre example of a man who claimed to have eaten 665 farm animals.

Take comfort in knowing you have a buffer from market swings.

This tax strategy makes it hard to lose money when markets fall

The tax benefits of salary sacrificing into super are so good, markets would have to drop by at least 20 per cent for most people to be worse off.

Documenting succession plans with contracts can help family businesses avoid the type of court stoush the Levis family is embroiled in.

How to avoid a succession fight like the Cue fashion family’s

The legal principle of promissory estoppel is tripping up founders who have made promises but not put them in writing.

A non-concessional contribution  from the after-tax proceeds of one partner’s property sale can be made into each of a couple’s super accounts.

Can I add proceeds of investment property sale to wife’s super?

Now is a good time of the year to consider topping up your retirement savings.

Steve Gledden, managing partner at Straight Bat, at the MCG.

For one day a year this fund lets you invest like a family office

Limiting when you accept money seems a strange way for a fund to attract investment. But this private equity fund is also almost debt-free. What’s going on?

You will need to re-serve each waiting period included in the higher level of cover.

How can I get around health insurance waiting periods?

Many couples are tempted to cut back on private health insurance as they get older to save money, but it can backfire if you need a knee or hip replacement.

When you truly understand a business, the biggest risk isn’t overpaying – it’s selling too soon.

My biggest mistake in 20 years of investing

Unless the price is truly egregious, never substitute a business you know intimately for one you don’t because of valuation alone.

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Retirees will have to trim their spending should the sharemarket fall into a bear market.

How a bear market will hit your wealth: From $200k to $3.8m

So far, the cost of Donald Trump’s presidency has been felt by bond and stock traders. But if pain persists, it could cost wealthy retirees $100 a week.

Your primary residence will be exempt from means testing for the age pension.

Can I get more age pension if I sell my investment property?

The government expects you to spend your own savings before becoming eligible for Centrelink support.

Dean McKillip and Lizzy Rawdah.

Would you pay $900,000 to live in Valencia? This couple did

While Spain and Portugal are cancelling or tightening their golden visa schemes, expats and retirees are finding other ways to live out their lifestyle fantasies.

Watch out for cash amounts that include dividends or rental income.

Will we have to pay tax on an inheritance from family overseas?

You will be eligible for the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount once you’ve held the asset for more than a year.

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The new risk facing mum and dad property investors

As government schemes such as build-to-rent encourage institutional money into the residential property market, small investors could see themselves cut out.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/afr-smart-investor-1mu8