This Month
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.
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.
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.
Why ignoring your inner caveman will make you a better investor
Morgan Housel writes that 99 per cent of good investing is “doing nothing” and the other 1 per cent is “how you behave when the world is going crazy”.
April
Am I foolish to invest in shares when markets are so volatile?
Donald Trump’s erratic policy statements have markets in a spin. Is the best response to stop salary sacrificing into superannuation?
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.
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.
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.
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.
The $24m inheritance that was almost split 10 ways
Sydney artist Mimi Jaksic Berger, businessman Andrew Findlay and Queenslander Raveica Negrean all died with “homemade” wills. That’s a problem.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
How markets just got real for these 4 Millennial investors
Meet four young investors who this week experienced their first major market shock (albeit a very quick one). Here’s what they plan to do next.
One surprising group sailed through the Trump turmoil - here’s how
As markets plunged, jumped, slumped and soared around them, the one thing this group didn’t do was panic.
‘Feels like the commissioner is sitting at the kitchen table’
What was once a relatively simple formula has become a maze of complex decisions with potentially severe tax consequences.
This will cushion your super balance during the Trump slump
Bonds typically act as a counterbalance to equities, providing ballast during share market corrections. But this time around there’s a wrinkle in the system.
How can I add a downsizer contribution and inheritance to super?
There is the potential to contribute a combined $1.32 million to your super fund and that of your spouse.
Don’t repeat this estate planning mistake by Robert Holmes a Court
Australia’s first billionaire died of a heart attack in 1990 at the age of 53. The problem was he didn’t leave a valid will.
Six things for investors to do right now (and one to avoid)
Retail investors, superannuation savers and retirees are understandably jittery, so we asked financial planners for advice.
This retiree expects a market ‘bloodbath’. Here’s what will help
Jo White, 64, refuses to look at her super balance given what’s happened in financial markets over the past few days. These wealth experts lay out a game plan.
The average sum Australians will inherit and what to do with it
Inheritances can be life-changing – so long as the money is spent wisely. Here are four options.
What a beach house and dog called Trouble teach us about succession
Estate planning is where wealth collides with family politics, and nowhere does that hit harder than with lifestyle assets.