The corporate regulator has warned of a rise in scammers targeting Australian investors by pretending to be associated with well-known domestic and international financial service firms.

Diversification, spreading your money across a range of different assets rather than putting it all into one place, is one of the core principles of investment risk management. That's because investment returns from different assets are never consistent.

Director identification numbers may be introduced sooner than expected for SMSFs with corporate trustees, with the government moving quickly with the rollout of systems and processes, according to a technical expert.

In times of severe market disruption 'doing nothing' often feels unacceptable. Surely such market movements means you have to respond.

Downsizer contributions were the top query received by the BT technical services team in the December quarter, with many retirees looking to downsize for lifestyle and health reasons.

Public interest in financial advice rose significantly in 2020, with consumers focusing their online searches on super topics as the government launched its COVID-19 early access scheme, according to new data from fund manager Allan Gray.

With thousands of Australian expats still hoping to return home following COVID-19, a mid-tier firm has highlighted some important tax implications and considerations, including the foreign pension transfers.

The needs of retiree clients may not be properly serviced by traditional portfolio investment approaches, an investment expert has warned.

Approaching retirement still remains the top reason for seeking advice from a financial planner, with healthcare costs, outliving their savings and aged care costs some of the biggest concerns, according to a recent research paper.

COVID-19 has completely, and mercilessly, dictated the direction of economies and financial markets through most of this year. So, as we rapidly approach the end of an extremely unpredictable and volatile year, what's in store for 2021?

A new resource is now available that shows the rates per country of COVID-19 vaccinations.  We all suffered in many ways as COVID number increased, now, as expected, let's watch them start to drop.

An interesting finding in the federal government's Retirement Income Review report is that many Australians are dying with the majority of the wealth they had when they retired.

There's been an unexpected surge in new listings on the Australian share market over recent months. So, what is driving this IPO boom?

The students of 2020 are graduating to the adult world in one of the most uncertain times in recent history amid recession, pandemic and global political tensions. In times like these, knowing the basics of how to get started down the road to prosperity is more important than ever.

The latest industry research has shown SMSFs with low balances grow to levels allowing them to become cost-efficient very quickly.

Recently released draft exposure legislation will require trustees of super funds, including SMSFs, to exercise their powers in the best financial interests of beneficiaries and require APRA-regulated funds to support their expenditures with evidence.

The cost of a comfortable retirement in Australia has gone up over the September quarter despite COVID-induced lifestyle changes, new research has revealed.

With the end of the year drawing closer, the ATO has outlined some of the cut-off dates and deadlines applying for members wanting to apply for the early release of their super.

Some fireworks and a great Advent Calendar to help you celebrate. On behalf of all our staff we wish our clients and their families a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and a great holiday period.

While the government has announced plans to increase governance over the performance of super funds, super members will still need to actively monitor the performance of their fund to avoid being stapled to an underperforming one, says a mid-tier firm.

Recent research has revealed that more than half of retirees are projected to fall short of their desired retirement income level by more than 10 per cent, says Russell Investments.

Over the coming weeks, around 12 million working Australians will start receiving extra cash in their pay packets as a result of changes to personal income tax brackets announced by the federal government.

Trustees must ensure any purchase from a related party is not a proxy for a loan or financial assistance to avoid breaching their obligations.

Data only just released by the Australian Tax Office, detailing the asset allocations for all SMSFs in the quarter to the end of June, shows there was still a large investment weighting at that time towards cash and term deposits.

The response by our Governments to the COVID-19 crisis has been a very good one.  Following is a comprehensive listing of links to important Federal and State initiatives and programs since the pandemic began.

SMSF investors will increasingly be attracted to investments offering capital preservation post-COVID, with volatile markets and lower dividends compromising their ability to meet investment objectives, according to an asset manager.

Vanguard surveyed more than 850 millennials in the U.S. currently aged 24 to 39, who make at least US$50,000 per year, as part of a broader study on how people across different generations feel about retirement, investing, and financial advice during market volatility.

The following 35 links break the 2020 Federal Budget down into bite size bits.

The following links are to Fact Sheets that describe in detail how the Federal Government feels the 2020 Budget will impact you.

These three areas cover all you will need to know but the accompanying two articles cover more specific topics and they might help you better understand how the Budget affects you.

The legislative instrument implementing the changes to the JobKeeper scheme over the extended period was registered on 15 September 2020.

The 80 cents per hour work-from-home deduction method has now been extended for a further three months to the end of the year.

As a new wave of investors enter the Australian share market, new trends begin to emerge.

Portfolio construction is always a popular topic among investors, but as markets become more volatile, the practice of carefully piecing together a jigsaw of investments that weathers both good times and bad is particularly relevant.

With the work test changes for over-65s opening up opportunities for recontribution strategies, clients may be able to even up balances and adopt tax strategies for estate planning, particularly once the bring-forward measure is passed, says a technical expert.

Australian banks this month started the largest ever customer contact program in the industry's history.

With the ending of a number of the original COVID-19 relief and stimulus initiatives, August and the beginning of September has seen the release of new plans to move into the post-September period. Links to these updates and changes are listed below.

The rules around Superannuation contribution change almost every year, so it is important that taxpayers know what these changes mean to them.

The government’s early super release scheme shows no signs of slowing down, with almost 90,000 release applications received by super funds in the first week of August and more than $700 million in payments made.

Choice is inherently regarded as a good thing, particularly in these COVID-affected times when some of our basic choices have had to be suspended for the greater community good.

SMSFs with outstanding compliance issues should consider making a voluntary disclosure while the ATO still has a more flexible approach in place and before they implement tougher admin penalties, says a law firm.

It's often said that starting out early on one's investing journey will deliver good long-term results.

The ATO has confirmed only payments made to a member after 24 March in excess of the reduced minimum pension can be treated as a lump sum, even where a valid election was previously in place, says the SMSF Association.

Last week, Vanguard and Investment Trends launched the 2020 SMSF Investor Report. This year's report surveyed over 3000 SMSF trustees on their investment priorities and industry outlook, providing an insight into how trustees navigated through COVID-19 volatility.

Several new links have been added to the many already in this article, links that date back to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.  If you have any questions, or require further assistance, please send us an email or phone.

The Government has decided to extend a lower JobKeeper for a further six months (13 fortnights) from 28 September this year, with eligibility based on actual rather than projected turnover declines.

It's a question most of us ask eventually: what happens to our investments when we die?

In the current low interest rate environment, an investment product offering low-risk, high returns may sound very tempting.

Superannuation fund members facing financial hardship have been given an extended window to access retirement savings under the early release scheme.

The ATO has expressed concern that some trustees with diminished pension account values may be putting themselves at risk of exceeding their transfer balance cap by commuting their pension and then topping it back up.

2020, a year that will be marked in history by a pandemic that had devastating effects on global health and economic activity to individuals and nations across the world.

The government now expects around $42 billion to be removed from the super system as a result of the early release scheme, having revised up its initial estimates of $27 billion at the start of the scheme.

Single Touch Payroll (STP) and Annual PAYG Payment Summaries – a reminder to both employers and employees.

It’s a natural question about global policymakers' multitrillion-dollar efforts to prop up economies and markets against the monumental threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. And the question has understandably taken a back seat to confronting immediate health and welfare challenges.

SMSF clients planning to provide rent reductions to tenants should review the lease agreement to ensure the provision of rent relief won’t result in a breach of the lease, says an industry lawyer.

The ATO has issued a list of tax-time myths, warning taxpayers that get-rich-quick schemes will only slow down returns.

As the 2019–20 financial year draws to a close, a technical expert has highlighted some of the new rules commencing for super funds for the 2020–21 financial year.

Over time we have supplied our clients with a growing collection of tools and resources to help in areas such as COVID-19 relief updates, articles on tax changes and updates, articles to help understand economic changes, calculators for all financial needs, and videos to help you and your family learn more about financial matters.  We hope you enjoy these 'extras' and if you have any question then simply ask.

As markets continue to be wax and wane due to ongoing coronavirus fears and subdued employment and economic recovery numbers, it seems timely to remind ourselves of the types of behavioural and emotional biases that could lead to potentially risky investment behaviour, and how you can avoid them.

The Federal Government recently announced the mandatory minimum drawdown rates for retirees with account-based pensions would be temporarily halved in both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 financial years.

In light of recent laws passed this month, many clients will need to review their estate planning to ensure their will adequately explains how superannuation and insurance payments should be dealt with.

Overall growth of SMSF sector has continued despite a drop in the number of new funds in the December quarter 2019, the latest ATO statistical report shows.

There’s an old saying, to only focus on the things in life that you can control.

The government’s introduction of the Retirement Income Covenant scheduled to start on 1 July has been deferred to allow continued consultation and legislative drafting to take place following the coronavirus crisis.