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Can’t Buy Me Health
Read more: Can’t Buy Me Health“Wow, they’re still going!” We’ve probably all thought it or said it. A story appears in the media reminding us that there’s a small group of people who never seem to retire: Musicians. To name the most obvious, Bruce Springsteen in his mid-70’s, Paul McCartney into his 80’s, and two of the remaining Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards into their early 80’s. We all might marvel at how they’re still going, but the question would be why are they still going? Money? Unlikely, as estimates suggest they’d all be billionaires, or close to it. There’s little they couldn’t…
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The $3 Million Questionaire
Read more: The $3 Million QuestionaireAnd here we go again. More proposed superannuation changes. The Albanese government is planning to impose a higher tax rate on superannuation balances above $3 million. This is set to take effect from July 1, 2025, and has been sold as increasing fairness and sustainability in the system. However, it just adds to the complexity, specifically with the most alarming of the proposed changed: taxing unrealised gains. The main component of the proposed reform, known as the Division 296 tax, is to increase the tax on earnings in the accumulation phase of super from 15% to 30% for balances above…
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Things Change
Read more: Things Change“They can cart me out of here in a box!” We’ve probably all heard a similar sentiment. A humorous and slightly morbid statement about our final living arrangements. It might be a house, an apartment, a shack, a boat, some people just keep booking cruises and live almost permanently at sea! We design our living arrangements to suit us for as long as possible and the things around us become familiar and comfortable. That assumption of permanence can be upended very quickly because things change. While they might not change for us specifically, they certainly can and do change around…
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2025 Q1 March Quarter Review
Read more: 2025 Q1 March Quarter ReviewEconomic Overview Q1 2025 was a mostly negative one for global equity investors, due to a late quarter sell off, after a very positive first six weeks of the quarter. The reason? Uncertainty. The scatter gun approach of the Trump administration dominated markets. US equity market performance has been incredibly reliable in the past two years, and looked set to continue with the Republican Party controlling both the house and the senate, as investors assumed the prospect of deregulation and the renewal of tax cuts would continue to be tailwinds. But by late February, trade concerns began to weigh on…
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Don’t Vote with Your Portfolio
Read more: Don’t Vote with Your PortfolioThe recent re-emergence of market volatility has stoked some fears. Specifically in the investors who take their politics a little too seriously. Financial markets moving around is nothing new, but some investors, without a coherent investment philosophy, are quite happy to replace it with an incoherent politico-investment philosophy. Whatever happens in financial markets can be directly attributed to their political side or their political opponent. This position makes investing incredibly difficult. Every time a government changes, it means their portfolio’s structure is up for consideration. The long term only exists if their team is in charge. If the other team…
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