Financial Planning Blog

Stock markets around the world edged higher on Tuesday amid signs of improving growth, even though questions about monetary policy limited gains. The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 ended at all-time highs, while the dollar rose and gold fell.

Overnight the European shares edged higher but US ended down.  Procter & Gamble Co. and Coca-Cola Co. retreated as companies that make food, beverages and household products slumped. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. gained as energy shares surged.

The S&P 500 (SPX) retreated 0.1 percent to 1,666.29 in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 19.12 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,335.28. About 6 billion shares traded hands today, or 5.1 percent below the three-month average.

Silence is the sweetest sound for self-managed super fund trustees on federal budget night. Although it was anticipated that there would be nothing new in the budget affecting super after the announcements on 5 April, it says something about the uncertainty created by the recent public debate on super, that there was a collective sigh of relief across the trustee population when the federal treasurer Wayne Swan resumed his seat on Tuesday night with super unscathed.

An investment’s after-tax and after-fee return is the one that really matters.

Too often, investors fall into the trap of focusing too much on an investment's nominal return without taking tax and fees into account. This can, of course, give a misleading impression of their real return.

An article in the May issue of Superfunds magazine, published by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), examines how large super funds are preparing to meet their fast-approaching legal obligations to adopt after-tax investing practices.

According to research, there is a strong correlation between this anxiety and low levels of financial literacy.

Improving financial literacy is a long-term societal goal by the government and the financial services industry. The question is – while we work on long-term plans to address this, what can we do in the short term?

In US there is $10+ trillion in electronic "money" in the US system, and only $1 trillion in cold, hard cash available when someone wants it.  

Question: I am self-employed and I have never made super contributions in my life. Am I eligible to make super contributions, and can I claim a tax deduction for those super contributions?

Question: Does a co-contribution received after using up the total bring forward cap of $450,000 mean that an excess contribution has been made, or is the Government co-contribution excluded from the after-tax contribution cap?

SMSF trustees now have to take additional care with respect to the investment strategies of funds and valuation of SMSF assets, as the ATO (Australian Tax Office) has effectuated fresh SMSF rules intended to “address potential risks and strengthen the regulatory framework in which SMSFs operate” since 1 July 2012. The ATO also plans to target a few specific SMSF compliance areas during the financial year of 2012/2013, which means that you would be well advised to conduct a super service on your SMSF right now.

Question: If I have retired from work and later on inherit a reasonable sum of cash, can I make a non-concessional contribution into my superannuation fund? OR is that only permitted while I am working, regardless of my age?