Our Strategies

Hybrid Securities Part 3 – Preference shares

Many thanks to Dean Greacen from SMSF Investor for today’s post. Dean will be sharing with us...

Hybrid Securities Part 2 – Convertible notes

Many thanks to Dean Greacen from SMSF Investor for today’s post. Dean will be sharing with us...

Hybrid Securities Part 1 – what are they and what are the risks?

Many thanks to Dean Greacen from SMSF Investor for today’s post. Dean will be sharing with us...

Is the DOW in trouble?

Watching the stock market action in the past week for me has been more exciting than watching...

The tortoise and the hare

I saw this article “Non-profit super shows best returns” today which reported that between 2000 to 2009,...

Risk vs Reward

After the spectacular stock market rally of 2009, even the most bullish analyst is not expecting an...

2010 Bear Market Strategies

I was surprised when I found out that the top keyword search phrase for my blog this...

Get your fair share of commission rebates

I am sure no consumer likes to pay commissions for the financial products we buy. Unfortunately, the...

My outlook for 2010

I wish I can be a little bit more enthusiastic when I exchange “Happy New Year” wishes...

Where is the AUD headed in 2010?

Yesterday, the Aussie dollar index broke below a key technical support level of 89.89 which was the...

AORD head and shoulders – an example of when to hedge

Yesterday I decided to buy XJO put options to hedge my Australian stock portfolio because of what...

Meredith Whitney: Sell the banks

I noticed early this morning that some banks in the US finished in the red despite a...

Book Store

Saving is the new spending

Saving is the new spending

“Saving is the new spending” is the tagline for Ubank, which is currently my favourite bank for my SMSF term deposits. I am not sure how true this is in Australia as the mood of the general public appears to be “relax, spend as the good times are coming back again”. Unemployment is down, our housing prices are up and the share market has just had a bumper year. The Reserve Bank has …

March 12, 2010 | No comment | Read More »

2009 Performance of SMSFs

2009 Performance of SMSFs

Last week we had a few performance reports released for SMSFs and large super funds. On Thursday 20 Aug 2009, the large SMSF administration specialist Super Concepts released the average annual returns and average asset allocations for 2008-09 for a sizeable portion of the funds under its administration. Thanks to Robin Bowerman for bringing this to my attention on his SmartInvesting blog. This study was based on the average returns and asset allocations …

August 23, 2009 | 5 comments | Read More »

Hybrid Securities Part 3 – Preference shares

Hybrid Securities Part 3 – Preference shares

Many thanks to Dean Greacen from SMSF Investor for today’s post. Dean will be sharing with us a series of posts on Hybrid Securities, which could be a great investment for SMSFs seeking high yield with capital growth.

A preference share is a type of equity interest which has preferential rights over ordinary shares. The company’s profits are distributed (through the payment of dividends)

March 5, 2010 | No comment | Read More »

Simple strategies for Self Managed Super Funds

Simple strategies for Self Managed Super Funds

Hello to all current and future SMSF Trustees

My husband and I started our own self-managed super fund in March 2007 because we wanted to take more control on managing our investments. Like most people, our fund was started through our accountant. After helping us with the paperwork (trust deed, ABN registration, accounting and auditing etc) we found we were on our own to do the most important activity, which is to invest and grow the funds under our management. Our fund started with around $100K and though …

April 23, 2009 | No comment | Read More »

Fund Management and Performance

How should you measure your SMSF performance?

How should you measure your SMSF performance?

Most mutual funds measure their performance against a market index and I know some Self Managed Super Funds (SMSF) do the...

Feb 5, 2010 | 5 comments | Read More »
The tortoise and the hare

The tortoise and the hare

I saw this article “Non-profit super shows best returns” today which reported that between 2000 to 2009, funds operated by unions...

Jan 21, 2010 | 1 comment | Read More »
Risk vs Reward

Risk vs Reward

After the spectacular stock market rally of 2009, even the most bullish analyst is not expecting an encore of this performance...

Jan 18, 2010 | 1 comment | Read More »
2009 Performance of SMSFs

2009 Performance of SMSFs

Last week we had a few performance reports released for SMSFs and large super funds. On Thursday 20 Aug 2009, the...

Aug 23, 2009 | 5 comments | Read More »
Insuring your paper assets

Insuring your paper assets

Last week a storm damaged the fences on one of our investment properties. I check our insurance policy and was relieved...

Aug 10, 2009 | No comment | Read More »
Think like a Professional Fund Manager

Think like a Professional Fund Manager

According to this article “Small Funds now Biggest Sector of Super Industry” in The Australian newspaper, Self Managed Super Funds have...

Jul 2, 2009 | No comment | Read More »

Other posts

Saving is the new spending

“Saving is the new spending” is the tagline for Ubank, which is currently my favourite...

Mar 12, 2010 | No comment | Read More »

One year later

Firstly, I would like to apologize for not writing many new posts in the past...

Mar 10, 2010 | No comment | Read More »

Robert Prechter’s 2010 forecast

Robert Prechter is a leading technical analyst and market forecaster who specialises in a technical...

Feb 25, 2010 | No comment | Read More »

What Chinese Malls Tell Us about the Economic Reality

Below is an article from Elliott Wave International which I thought fits well into our...

Feb 23, 2010 | No comment | Read More »

Year of the Tiger: expect loud roaring

Last Sunday, 14 February 2010 was the start of the Chinese Year of the Tiger....

Feb 18, 2010 | No comment | Read More »

Forget Greece, Dubai will default first

While all eyes are focused on Greece, Dubai is quietly trying to work out a...

Feb 17, 2010 | 1 comment | Read More »

Do investors need trading tools today?

I must admit I was a little skeptical when I was invited by ino.com to...

Feb 16, 2010 | 1 comment | Read More »

Should Australian investors worry about the European debt crisis?

Apparently not, if you read the local financial news. While the problems with Greece continue...

Feb 12, 2010 | 1 comment | Read More »

Is there really an overcapacity problem in China?

I have been reading about the overcapacity problem in China in financial blogs for quite...

Feb 9, 2010 | No comment | Read More »

Australian house prices in 2010 – part 2

I don’t know if many people read or realised the significance of this low key...

Feb 2, 2010 | 4 comments | Read More »