Innehållsförteckning för August 2023 från Money Magazine

BACK TO BASICS Serina Bird I'm writing this while I'm visiting Sydney as my son participates in a table tennis competition. How expensive can table tennis be? Many Aussies grew up playing table tennis in the garage, and we never saw it as expensive. But with annual club fees, group coaching lessons, special bats, balls, uniforms and long trips interstate, it all adds up. And then there's the cost of the mortgage on a house large enough to accommodate the table. My friend Tracy has three kids, all of whom are sporty with a whiff of Olympic potential. One is big on fencing, and another is in the state and national water polo teams. The family has not long returned from a sports trip to Perth, one of several interstate…

For me, as an estate planning practitioner, it is always fascinating to learn from clients where they think their estate will go if they die without a will. Some say it will automatically go to their spouse. Others say it will go to the Public Trustee or even to the Crown. Although it is safe to say that having a will provides certainty about where your estate will go, there are also other benefits. If you die without a will, you are said to have died intestate. Where your estate goes if you die intestate depends on the intestacy rules of the state or territory where most of your assets are located. These rules are set in legislation, surprisingly vary across the country and often do not reflect a person's…

Despite the ups and downs of the pandemic period, Australians have emerged wealthier as a whole than they were three years ago. Between March 2020 and 2023, their total wealth grew by 7% (after inflation), according to the Roy Morgan Wealth Report 2023. The growth was largely a result of the substantial rise in property values, with owner-occupied homes jumping by 43% from $4.16 trillion to $5.95 trillion over the three years. “As a country, we have done pretty well since March 2020, and remember that's not just since Covid. Over that period, we've also had 13 interest rate increases, crushing cost-of-living pressures and alarming inflation,” says Roy Morgan's chief executive, Michele Levine. While homeowners have largely benefited, the boom in property values has deepened the gap between rich and…

ASK PAUL Q&A NEED PAUL'S HELP? Send your questions to: Ask Paul, Money magazine, Level 7, 55 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000 or money@moneymag.com.au. Sorry, but Paul can't personally answer your questions other than in the Q&A column. By submitting your question to Money, you consent to having your question and the response you receive from Paul published in the print and digital edition of Money. Q My wife and I are disagreeing over money lately. We're in our 50s, with adult children, and several years ago my wife opted to give up her full-time job to pursue a small business. Unfortunately it's really more of a hobby, and it costs more than it brings in, but it makes my wife happy and if we live carefully then we can…

PAUL'S VERDICT Paul Clitheroe YOUR QUESTION I follow your column regularly, Paul, and I love your perspective of experience and wisdom. My husband (50 and employed full time) and I (44 and employed part time) have paid off our house (worth $1.2 million). Our combined income is $130,000 before tax. We have around $100,000 in savings after selling our small investment property last year. My husband has $220,000 in super and I have $89,000. We also have about $10,000 in shares, $10,500 in bonds, which we are planning to give our 12-year-old daughter on her 21st birthday, and $7500 in her account. We are planning on continuing to invest small amounts ($50-$100 a week) in all of these. We are keen on buying another investment property (an apartment worth around $550,000…

1 Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (VAS) is Australia's biggest ETF, giving exposure to our top 300 companies. It suits investors who are seeking long-term capital growth, with some tax-effective income, and who have a higher tolerance for the risks associated with sharemarket volatility. Fund facts • Funds under management at May 2023 – $12.1 billion • Benchmark – S&P/ASX 300 Index Total returns to May 31, 2023 • 1 year – 2.33% (2.37% benchmark) • 5 years – 7.42%pa (7.43%) • Since inception on May 8, 2009 – 8.71 %pa (8.82%) Quarterly distributions • Top 5 holdings – BHP, CBA, CSL, NAB, WBC • Management fee 0.10% 2 Magellan Global Fund (MGOC) is an unhedged global equity fund that seeks to invest in 20 to 40 companies with relatively…

1 Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF (HACK) aims to track the performance of an index that provides exposure to the leading companies in the global cybersecurity sector. With cybercrime on the rise, the demand for cybersecurity services is expected to grow strongly, according to Betashares. The portfolio includes global cybersecurity giants, as well as emerging players, from across the globe. Fund facts • Funds under management at June 15, 2023 – $717 billion • Benchmark – NASDAQ Consumer Technology Association Cybersecurity Index Total returns to May 31, 2023 • 1 year – 14.63% (15.9% benchmark) • 5 years – 14.85%pa (15.37%) • Since inception in August 2016 – 16.24%pa (16.87%) Half-yearly distributions • Top 5 holdings – Broadcom, Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, Cisco Systems, Infosys • Management fee and costs 0.67%…

Anthony O'Brien SMALL BUSINESS While many workers relish tax time as a chance to pocket a tax refund, it can be a different case for small business owners. The end of the financial year brings a raft of reporting requirements, often followed by a tax debt. It's hardly something to look forward to, but the vast majority of small enterprises pay their way. There are more than five million small businesses in Australia and they contribute around 30% of total income tax paid. In 2019-20, for instance, small businesses collectively paid $90 billion in tax. However, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) believes this tax haul should have totalled $102 billion – a gap of $11.9 billion, or 11.6% below expected tax revenue. Under our system of self-assessment, it can be…

It can be overwhelming selling your parents’ home if they have unexpectedly ended up in aged care due to an accident or ill health. I have friends who have taken months, even years, to sort through the contents, particularly if their parents are “collectors” or hoarders. Others, like my partner and his three siblings, efficiently go through their parents’ home over a couple of days, with much of the contents ending up in the skip or donated. While his siblings agreed with emptying the house, some families could benefit from employing a professional declutterer who can help you efficiently sort the contents into piles for keeping, selling or throwing out. Some family members want to sell every item in the home to maximise the value of the estate. But you…

As a recruiter of 25 years, one crucial attribute I look for in a candidate is their sticking power. The investment to bring a new hire up to speed with training and, in some cases, upskilling, especially in our hybrid, remote-working environments, can take six to 12 months. So, if you are in a role for one year, it is simply not enough. You may have acquired the additional knowledge and skills, but in most cases, the business hasn't realised the same benefit. Add to that the disruption to the team and culture, and you can understand a hiring manager's reluctance to hire a job hopper. If you are about to hop to another job, here are some considerations: • Your reasons for leaving. A toxic working environment or an…

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) defines greenwashing as “the practice of misrepresenting the extent to which a financial product or investment strategy is environmentally friendly, sustainable or ethical. “Greenwashing distorts relevant information that a current or prospective investor might require in order to make informed investment decisions,” it says. “It can erode investor confidence in the market for sustainability related products and poses a threat to a fair and efficient financial system.” Over the past year, ASIC has secured 23 corrective disclosure outcomes, issued 11 infringement notices and commenced its first civil penalty proceedings against companies, fund managers and super funds for allegations of greenwashing, so it's clearly something front of mind for the market regulator. “ASIC is doing a lot of work on greenwashing, which we think…

Pros • Cheaper premiums – the super fund buys insurance policies in bulk. • Easy to pay – premiums are automatically deducted from your super balance. • Fewer health checks – most super funds will accept you for a default level of cover without health checks. This can be useful if you work in a high-risk job or have health conditions that can make it difficult to get insurance outside super. Check the product disclosure statement to see the exclusions and treatment of pre-existing conditions. • Increased cover – you can usually increase the amount of cover you have above the default level. But you'll generally have to answer questions about your medical history and have a medical check. • Tax-effective payments – your employer's super contributions and salary sacrifice…

THIS MONTH Marcus Padley When I arrived in Australia in 1994, one of the most noticeable differences between the sharemarket in London and the sharemarket in Australia was the food retail sector. And it hasn't changed. In London, you are spoilt for choice. At any one time within an 8km radius in central London you could find a Sainsbury's, ASDA, Aldi, a Co-Op, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Spar, Tesco and a Waitrose – let alone an Iceland, a Costcutter, Mace, Londis or Lidl. It's the same in the UK bank sector. They have consolidated a bit since my day, but you now have Lloyds, HSBC, Barclays, National Westminster Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered, the Allied Irish Bank, the Bank of Ireland, Citibank, Clydesdale Bank, Bank of China, Yorkshire…

Australian Communications and Media Authority 1300 850 115 acma.gov.au Australian Competition and Consumer Commission 1300 302 502 accc.gov.au Australian Energy Regulator aer.gov.au/consumers/making-a-complaint Australian Financial Complaints Authority 1800 931 678 afca.org.au Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) 1300 300 630 asic.gov.au Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) 131 279 asx.com.au Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) 1800 812 798 (outside Sydney) 9264 9300 (Sydney) superannuation.asn.au CPA Australia 1300 737 373 (within Australia) +61 3 9606 9677 (outside Australia) cpaaustralia.com.au Do Not Call Register To reduce telemarketing calls 1300 792 958 donotcall.gov.au/contact-us/contact-details Fair trading/consumer affairs ACT: 132 281 NSW: 133 220 NT: 1800 019 319 QLD: 137 468 SA: 131 882 TAS: 1300 654 499 VIC: 1300 558 181 WA: 1300 304 054 Financial Counselling Australia National Debt Helpline: 1800 007 007 financialcounsellingaustralia.org.au/contact…

Sub-accounts really are a mission impossible I was so motivated by Scott's letter in the June issue regarding the difficulty in finding a bank that offered subaccounts that I got up from behind my computer screen and visited my local bricks-and-mortar Commonwealth Bank to find out if it really was the mission impossible he'd suggested. My time and effort were not rewarded in the way I had hoped. To the credit of the meet-and-greet customer service officer, they were very knowledgeable on all things account related and assured me that you could have a sub-account or “basket” in which you could move funds to specific saving categories, but they had to be new and separate from your existing account. That kind of defeated the benefit of the simplistic banking I…

CALENDAR OF EVENTS Thursday August 3 Balance of trade Tuesday August 8 Westpac consumer confidence NAB business confidence Thursday August 10 Consumer inflation expectations Thursday August 17 Unemloyment rate THE BUZZ With every day bringing new examples of what artificial intelligence (AI) is capable of, the findings of the royal commission into Australia's robo-debt disaster are a stark reminder of what can go wrong without regulation. The robo-debt scheme relied on algorithms to identify overpayments in Centrelink income support. It was supposed to save the government $1.5 billion over five years, but ended up costing it more than $1.8 billion. What it lacked, we now know, was human oversight. But AI is not all bad – it can be used to create efficiencies and make our everyday lives simpler and…

BOOK OF THE MONTH Who doesn't need tips, tricks and strategies to help them pay off their mortgage, particularly in the current economic climate? This timely book delivers on all fronts, thanks to author and The Joyful Frugalista podcast host Serina Bird who knows a thing or two about making your dollars go further. You'll welcome her hacks for getting out of mortgage debt sooner along with saving tips for all areas of life including how to save money on holiday. Five readers can win a copy. In 25 words or less, tell us your tip for paying off your mortgage sooner? Enter online at moneymag.com.au/win or send entries to Money, Level 7, 55 Clarence Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000. Entries open July 31, 2023 and close September 6, 2023. TAX…

People on lower incomes looking for help to purchase a new vehicle will continue to have access to the No Interest Loans (NILs) scheme, thanks to a new $500,000 funding injection from the federal government. Run by Good Shepherd, the program provides loans of up to $5000 to fund the purchase of a car, mobility scooter, motorcycle or scooter. And, unlike commercial loans, it can be paid off over four years without any interest or fees. “We know vehicles and other related costs, such as registration, are expensive, and not every region has public transport readily available – that's why NILs for vehicles is so important to assist those who need it,” says the federal Social Services minister, Amanda Rishworth. Applicants will need to earn below $70,000 a year (single)…

The Intelligent Investor Gaurav Sodhi Lovisa has perfected the retail model. It operates close to 800 stores worldwide, all of them small to minimise rents and wages. Inventory is sold and restocked swiftly and Lovisa can reliably launch 100 new lines every week across its network. The company generates 80% gross margins and net profit margins of 17% while copious free cashflows fund store rollouts and dividends. New stores have a payback period of about 18 months and are being furiously rolled out. Return on equity nears 100%. Yet this mighty model is about to be tested. Australia, where Lovisa operates more than 160 stores, is groaning under the burden of higher interest rates. Everyone expects discretionary retail to struggle. Lovisa's share price fell 25% in June before bouncing back…

COST-OF-LIVING FOCUS Q My wife and I have $940,000 left owing on our house, worth about $1.3 million. Half our mortgage is variable, half is currently fixed at 2.2%, but the fixed period ends in November. Should we refix half or all of the mortgage? Or leave it all on variable? We can afford maybe one or two small rate increases, but there's not too much fat left in the budget given all our bills are going up. Damn, another hard question. I've barely recovered from answering Bryan (see previous page). Here we have some pretty hard facts. Regardless of whether you fix or not in November, when 50% of your mortgage comes off 2.2%, you are going to hit a cash crunch. In this highly volatile world, interest rate…

COST-OF-LIVING FOCUS Q Paul, as a single parent, how do I navigate this cost-of-living crisis? I don't want my children to feel financially stressed, but I can't hide everything. I work all week, but can't buy a home in the current climate – a goal I was working towards pre-Covid. Throw in a set or two of braces and everything else going up, and I feel like there are no answers. I'm tired of reading articles telling me to cut a few dollars here and there when I feel like maybe I could do with a financial adviser looking over my finances, but that's also unaffordable. I try really hard to be positive, but at times this situation gets me down. I feel like I make wise decisions and do…

Thank you for your kind words, Cassidy. I was reading over your question on a plane, heading back to my home town of Griffith, very sadly for a dear schoolmate's funeral. Not the best of occasions. You cheered me up. My wife, Vicki, also made me laugh by mumbling into her hot cup of tea that she agreed about experience, but she was not so sure about wisdom. Anyway, I am very sure about the fact that you have put yourselves in a great financial position at the youthful age of 44 and 50 (I turned 68 recently, so 50-year-olds seem very young). The key, of course, is paying off your house. Obviously, that means substantial additional surplus income without mortgage repayments. I like the idea of you salary sacrificing…

WHAT IF? Annette Sampson While there has been talk of recession since interest rates started to rise, the risks have become higher with the Reserve Bank (and central banks overseas) still showing no signs that they are finished with rate hikes. In late May, Mark Delaney, the chief investment officer of AustralianSuper, Australia's largest super fund, said he believed the Reserve Bank would tip the economy into recession in its battle to force inflation down. Delaney told a Morningstar investment conference the super fund was positioning its $280 billion portfolio for a downturn, and was short on stocks and long in bonds. “Who wants to be the central banker who brought back inflation?” he asked. “People will forgive them for having a recession, but they won't forgive them for ongoing…

FAMILY MONEY Susan Hely Selling up the family home can make sense when you are older. You may be rattling around in a big house, once needed for a growing family who have long moved on. If you move to a cheaper, more compact home or to a “cheaper” area, you can unlock some extra funds for the retirement years. It can be rewarding and liberating to sell your safe-haven home and free up some cash to have options such as exploring the world. There are even tax advantages if you put a downsizer contribution into your superannuation fund. Of the quarter of Australians who are over 55 and downsize their homes, 27% do it for financial reasons while 27% do it for lifestyle. A further 18% say the maintenance…

The downsizer contribution was introduced by the federal government in 2018, and 58,000 people have taken advantage of it, contributing a total of $14.5 billion to their superannuation (by April 2023), according to the tax office. The concession lets eligible, single people deposit up to $300,000 directly into their super when they sell their home. It is double that for a couple. The advantage of putting the money into superannuation is that any income earned after age 60 is tax-free in the account-based pension phase. “You want to get money into the tax structure of superannuation because it's tax free for pensions paid up at age 60. Superannuation is a very taxefficient way to draw down money over time,” says Chrysalis’ Mark McShane. Eligibility for the downsizer contribution has been…

New and off-the-plan properties have deservedly built a bad reputation in recent years. This is due to the bad workmanship and terrible delivery of many projects. During the property boom of 2018, Australians were developing about 200,000 properties a year – 50,000 above the average. This construction boom was influenced by an influx of foreign investors, particularly from China, looking to buy brand new property in Australia due to the laws and tax structures around investment, which were written in such a way that these investors were limited to buying new real estate. This strong demand was great for the industry, because it meant there were ready buyers for almost all new developments that entered the market. However, many new and inexperienced developers, builders, tradespeople, planners, certifiers and engineers entered…

MANAGED FUNDS Max Riaz Australia's economy is set to slow in coming months as a record string of interest rate hikes finally reaches a choke point for consumers. Corporate earnings and share prices will likely respond by flirting with lows not seen in a while. As we head into the next six months of elevated risk of earnings and dividend cuts, a 20% sell-off is not out of the question. This would take down valuations and share prices with them. I believe the full-year results will, by and large, come in okay as there was enough momentum in the economy closer to June 30 to get most companies over the line without negative surprises. But the months ahead will be very interesting. Surprises among the large-cap businesses will start to…

If a company goes into liquidation, how can shareholders stay informed through the process? The administrator is not required to report to shareholders on the progress or outcome of the administration and shareholders don't get to vote on the future of the company. Shareholders who are seeking information, however, can go onto the administrator's website and typically look at the creditor's reports there. The one bit of good news for shareholders in companies that go bust is they may be able to write off their shareholding as a capital loss. A capital loss is incurred when an investment decreases in value. While this cannot be claimed against your income, you can use a capital loss to reduce a capital gain in the same financial year. If your capital losses exceed…

BEST IN BREED Scott Phillips There's more than enough uncertainty in the Australian (and global) economy right now. Inflation. Interest rates. Unemployment. Spending. And, yes, the R-word: recession. It could tempt an investor to sell everything, put the cash in the bank and stay in bed. But by the time the coast is clear, share prices have usually regained most, if not all, of their losses. To wit: the Covid crash of February and March 2020 was the fastest bear market in history. The ASX lost more than 35% of its value in a little over a month – which all happened before the first local community transmission of Covid-19. And then? Well, the market started to climb. And climb. And climb. Remember, this was before Covid had escaped into…

OUTLOOK Alex Dunnin It may come as a surprise to learn that Australians have more than $6 trillion invested in superannuation accounts, residential investment housing, platform wraps and managed funds. This is despite recessionary fears as a result of the currently high, albeit receding, inflation and the high interest rates that have been unleashed to tame it. The amount is more than triple the size of Australia's annual GDP. Analysis by Rainmaker Information, which publishes Money magazine, shows that in the past year, Australians topped up these investments by more than $600 billion – not counting new residential housing investments. To understand the nation's economy, we need to understand how these investments are made, by whom and what they are choosing. To help us do this, the ASX has just…

MARCUS PADLEY Contributing writer “My Freedom. Well, maybe not since a child, but certainly since I realised that in order to live a life without regret my expenses always expanded to suck dry my salary every year. And when I became a parent, four times (idiot), I realised you can never earn enough from a salary. I'm sorry, but if you think you're going to get ahead with a family, a mortgage and just a job, forget it. You have to do more.” SERINA BIRD Contributing writer “When I was young, I liked to imagine owning property. I was fortunate to have parents who often talked about property investing. (I loved Monopoly so much there are family members who still remember my single-minded negotiating and refuse to play with me.)…

Australia's housing system has left renters behind for years. But as more people find themselves renting for life, that system is coming under growing pressure. A tight rental market with few tenant protections has created a perfect storm with many renters now on the cusp of an affordability cliff. New data by CoreLogic shows rents are 27% higher since the onset of Covid-19 – an extra $127 a week. It comes after governments have been walking away from social housing for decades, leaving renters on the lowest incomes to the mercy of the private market. This statistic reflects a sad reality we all must reckon with. In the short term, it means many people are skipping heating, eating and medical appointments just to make the rent. Over the long term,…

FRIENDS WITH MONEY #107: STOP WORRYING AROUT MONEY Guest: Jacqui Clarke Hosted by: Michelle Baltazar What do you do when you want to know how to look after your money so you can sleep at night? You consult chartered tax adviser, company board member, and veteran business executive Jacqui Clarke, of course, who has more than three decades of experience helping Australians build, manage and preserve their wealth. On this podcast, she delves into ways we can take back control of our money, how to better balance our incomes with rising living costs, plus the top five things we can do to build wealth, and how to get started on the path to thriving financially. SCAN THIS CODE TO ACCESS ALL OUR FRIENDS WITH MONEY PODCASTS…

As the FIFA Women's World Cup picks up steam, all eyes are on women's sport – and those investing in it. FIFA's most recent benchmarking report, Setting the Pace 2022, detailed the growth of women's football from 2021 to 2022 across all facets, including fan engagement, player representation and financial growth. The report found 7% of all clubs generated greater than $US1 million ($1.5 million) of revenue from matchday, broadcast, commercial and prize money sources, while clubs recorded year-on-year commercial revenue growth of 33%. In turn, leagues have experienced year-on-year growth of 24% in commercial revenues. International transfer fees in professional women's football hit a new record of $US2.1 million in 2021, an increase of 73% on 2020. According to the media and events company SportsPro, the rise of women's…

Jamie Azzopardi, in his own words, came from “a very poor family, a super poor family, actually”. That meant he quickly learned the value of work. His first job, at age 14, was at a Grill'd fast food outlet at Highpoint in Melbourne's western suburbs. “They initially said no to me working there because they thought I was too young,” he recalls. But he needed the money as he was “building my business”, adding he took financial advice from a banker friend, who advised him to save half his wage to put towards building a future business. At 16, he started that business: becoming a stylist. “I had it running in my DNA. Originally, I wanted to be a designer, but I hated pattern working,” he says. “My mum was…

ASK PAUL COST-OF-LIVING FOCUS Q&A Q Thank you for your recent offer to answer cost-of-living questions. I am a pensioner and have saved up a few thousand dollars for a rainy day. My son keeps telling me to invest it, but I am happier keeping it in the bank. I am managing okay with my bills. But I like knowing I have this for unexpected expenses. He says it's wasted just sitting in the bank. Am I really doing the wrong thing here? Is there a way to compromise? You know, Leanne, there is no compromise here. This is your money and your decision. You are a pensioner. Your son is not doing the wrong thing – he wants the best for you and wants you to earn higher returns.…

What is it? One in five Australians experiences food insecurity despite growers, manufacturers and retailers throwing out tonnes of edible food every day. That's where SecondBite, one of Australia's largest food rescue organisations, comes in. It redirects millions of kilos of surplus food that would otherwise end up in landfill. The organisation has strict guidelines when it comes to what bulk food can and cannot be donated. Where your money goes: In addition to sourcing donated food, SecondBite also accepts cash donations to help fulfill its mission. It describes itself as Australia's most efficient national food rescue organisation, with every dollar donated providing enough food for up to five meals. SecondBite then distributes to more than 1100 charities, which in turn provide meals, emergency food parcels and community pantries. Charities…

COVER STORY Ten years ago, the Australian exchange traded fund (ETF) industry managed just under $7 billion in funds. In January 2013, there were only 90 ETFs and exchange traded products (ETPs). There were no thematic-oriented products on the market and most of the money was tracking the S&P/ASX 200 index. Today, funds under management are closer to $143 billion, more than 20 times higher than in 2013. There are now 312 ETPs, including 46 that listed in the 12 months to March, according to the March 2023 ETP report by Rainmaker Information (publisher of Money magazine). The options now available to Australian investors cover regions, countries and even specific sectors or assets. ETFs are the most common and most wellknown ETP, but ETPs also include exchange traded notes, commodity…

BANKING Michelle Baltazar Customers with one of the big four banks saved an average of $1154 on their home loan last year with an offset account. Here's how to get the same cost savings, and more. An offset account, a transaction account that's linked to your home loan, comes with the benefit of potentially reducing interest payable on your loan. Any money you have in your account is “offset” against the balance of your home loan, meaning the more money you keep in your offset, the less you pay in interest. (A redraw facility serves a similar purpose, allowing you to make extra repayments in addition to your home loan repayment, while enabling you to redraw funds if you need them). Interest rate comes first But the interest rate is…

When people sell their house and buy another to unlock money, they can sometimes underestimate the expenses involved. There is a long list of costs, including conveyancing, marketing, real estate agent's fees, stamp duty and the removalist. Sprucing up your house to sell can be costly. Will you paint it, or pay for styling by a professional? Then how much will you spend on upgrading your new home? The outcome depends on the value of the house and your equity in it. While buying before you sell may make sense when prices are rising strongly, it can be problematic in a volatile housing market. Take Paul and Catherine, who lived about 20 kilometres from the centre of Melbourne in a five-bedroom, three-bathroom home with a large garden. They liked having…

Tougher government regulations around buy now, pay later (BNPL) products, one of the big debt traps for people in financial hardship, have been welcomed by financial counsellors. Financial Counselling Australia commissioned research from Curtin University into the true costs of using BNPL on small purchases and found that late fees resulted in interest rates ranging from 16% to 177%, depending on the BNPL provider, compared with credit card interest of 22%. According to a study conducted by the women's charity the Good Shepherd in late 2022, 73% of financial counsellors say clients have missed essential payments, cut back on essentials or gone without essentials, to service BNPL debt. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission also found that 19% of BNPL consumers showed two or more indicators of financial stress, such…

REAL ESTATE Pam Walkley Self-storage is one sector of the commercial property market that's booming. A downside is that retail investors who want to jump on the self-storage bandwagon have limited options, but a new kid on the block will increase their access. The sector proved to be one of the most resilient industries in Australia during the pandemic. As more people worked from home, many needed to declutter to provide more space and some of this “clutter” was moved into selfstorage units. This came on top of the main driver of self-storage: people moving house. There's also been an increase in e-commerce businesses that use storage units to house their inventory. All these factors have combined to drive up occupancy and rental rates. In contrast to the US and…

With more and more people wanting to invest their hard-earned dollars in ways that meet their financial goals and sit well with their personal ethics, it's safe to say that going green is here to stay. Eighty per cent of Australians expect their money in super, banks and other investments to be invested responsibly, with 17% of us already investing in ethical and responsible products, according to the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA). The industry body represents fund managers, advisers and super funds and promotes responsible investing and sustainable finance in Australia and New Zealand. The RIAA's survey of consumer preferences when it comes to ethical investing found that 72% of survey participants are concerned with greenwashing. The report, From Values to Riches 2022: Charting consumer demand for responsible investing…

SUPER Vita Palestrant In the next few weeks your annual super statement will hit your inbox with important information. While most people stop reading their statement once they've checked their investment returns, it's worth paying extra attention to your life cover too. Default death and total and permanent disability (TPD) cover is one of the most overlooked parts of super, yet it is there to provide you and your dependants with financial protection if you die or are unable to work due to injury or illness. As a super fund member, you get affordable default cover automatically regardless of any pre-existing health conditions. The cost is based on your age and the sum insured. Alex Dunnin, executive director of research and compliance at Rainmaker, which publishes Money, says Australia's super…

Kapstream Absolute Return Income Fund Aims to provide a steady stream of income and capital stability over the medium term, with a global, diversified portfolio of predominantly investment-grade, fixed-income securities. AB Managed Volatility Equities Fund (Managed Fund) – MVE Class Aims to achieve returns that exceed the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index after fees over the medium to long term. The MVE Class is designed for equity investors seeking lower volatility than is typical for an equity fund, reduced downside risk in falling equity markets, and the potential for long-term capital growth and some income, including franked Australian dividend income. Talaria Global Equity Fund Takes a high-conviction, value-biased approach to construct a portfolio of high-quality, large-cap companies from around the globe. The fund seeks to deliver consistent income generation and capital…

THE HOT SEAT Tell us about your latest role Judge Turpin is the ultimate musical theatre villain. Highly unlikeable and delicious to play. Did you always want to be a performer? I did a project in Year 6 where we were asked what we wanted to be when we grew up. Mine was titled “I want to be a star”. I haven't quite reached the stratosphere, but I have definitely achieved many of my childhood performing goals. In between the “big jobs” I really enjoy teaching dancing to kids and musical theatre workshops. During the pandemic I joined my friend's company doing deck restoration on the Northern Beaches. #tradielyf What was your earliest money lesson? You can't be buried with it. Thanks Mum. What was your first job? At 17,…