The FinSec View

6th April 2023 Last week, the director of AFR insights James Daggar-Nickson, received an unsolicited text. It was supposedly from a 22 year old woman from China eager to make the acquaintance of a 'well-mannered' man (and presumably obtain his bank account details). The message couldn't have been more fortuitous, not only because we're sure James probably does have lovely manners, but because he was at that moment emceeing The Australian Financial Review Banking Summit, at which scams was [...]

10th March 2023As experts begin to unpack the proposed new tax on super accounts above $3m, the true consequences of the measure are starting to show. And Chalmers is now in full defence mode. In one press conference over the weekend, within a few sentences, he said the word 'modest' five times and 'simple' four times.It's a Shakespearean reminder of Hamlet, where his mother, Gertrude, is asked about the queen in a play who repeatedly states she would not remarry [...]

24th February 2023 Any hope that superannuation regulations will remain unchanged again in the next Federal Budget on 9 May 2023 is fading fast. Super was untouched in 2022, but the Financial Services Minister, Stephen Jones, has done enough jawboning to indicate he is ready to strike. And, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (National Press Club) making the below comment yesterday, it seems the super wars could be back on. “We said that we would not have any major changes in [...]

10th February 2023Welcome to the first issue of the View for 2023. After a January sabbatical (editorially speaking), it is good to be back, and we trust all our readers had an enjoyable holiday break. This year, more than usual, it feels like a time to stocktake and check one's goals for the year ahead. Nobody hands out a card that profiles the future, and everybody needs to plan their own 2023 objectives, including financial and investment goals based on [...]

16th December 2022 'Tis the season when the world's strategists, economists and analysts gaze into their crystal balls and make predictions for the year ahead. And on the surface, at least, it looks like a pretty 'meh' year ahead, with both Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley tipping the S&P 500 - the key benchmark for global share market sentiment - will finish 2023 either flat or slightly lower than 2022. But dig a little deeper, and the next 12 [...]

2nd December 2022 "Sorry" probably isn't the usual rhetoric to feature amongst the barbs traded in Parliament House. But, when Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe appeared before the senate economics committee on Monday, it was mea culpa all the way. It seemed a classic political move when Greens Treasury spokesman Nick McKim asked Lowe whether borrowers who had been "induced" into taking out mortgages based on the central bank's guidance were owed an apology. Surprisingly, it was not just one sorry, [...]

18th November 2022 It's been a long time coming, but underlying US inflation finally appears to be easing. More on this in our market update below. One factor that will influence future inflation is demographics. This week, the world reached a milestone, with the global population officially hitting 8 billion. Australia has played its small part. New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show life expectancy in Australia actually increased during the COVID-19 pandemic (one of the few countries). From [...]

4th November 2022 In a macro sense, last week's Federal Budget was incredibly modest. Looking at the spending packages as a proportion of GDP they came in at just 0.1%. Really it was just about delivering on the election promises. In the context of previous budgets, in May 2022 spending initiatives came in at 1.7% of GDP, in 2021 during covid they were 4.1% of GDP and in 2020 5.5% of GDP - Even pre-covid the numbers were far [...]

21st October 2022 If you could talk to a younger version of yourself, what advice would you give? Wear more sunscreen, drink more water, make better money choices? As it turns out, professional investors are also not immune to the odd moment of "if only I had ...". This week, the AFR spoke to nine professionals about the lessons they'd teach their past selves, given the chance. The insights include recognising that volatility doesn't last forever and that the future [...]

7th October 2022 How financially smart do you think you think Australians are? Be honest. In a finance quiz by think tank The Conexus Institute in June, less than half of the 1040 respondents got all six questions correct. How best to arm Australians with more financial knowledge is a pertinent question, especially as Treasury considers how to expand access to and improve the quality of financial advice. Even more so when you consider rising interest rates and the [...]