In the Media

When it comes to superannuation, I believe many Australians are feeling uneasy. The solid foundation that we rely upon to fund our retirement is constantly shifting, and the rules keep changing. Last week, yet again, the government came out with proposed changes to superannuation and this time it wanted to attack capital gains tax breaks for self-managed super funds that invest in property. Worse still, the government wants to attack those in retirement whose pensions are paid from their superannuation as currently there is no tax payable once your superannuation converts into pension phase..

Let’s face it, when there is a decision to be made about which property to buy it’s usually the woman who has the final say, or so many real estate agents tell me. They also say that our purchases are often based on the buyer’s our passion for the property, which I believe is polite way of saying that we ladies tend to get a bit emotional about our purchases. I know how hard is it to walk into a house you are thinking of buying as an investment without seeing yourself in it, even if it is an investment...

In my previous articles I discussed two major areas of investment, leveraging or borrowing to invest and diversification, and how both investors and traders are misled by the myths surrounding these areas, which results in costly mistakes. I will now continue the theme by talking about another form of leverage that causes more people to lose their shirts more than any other. This is the area of derivatives and over-the-counter (OTC) products, which encompass options, warrants, E-minis, CFDs and futures. This area is driven by fancy marketing...

Whilst I was out shopping on the weekend I found that some of the major retailers were clearing stock to make way for new season fashions that will be coming in soon, and this means bargain prices, so we can go to the races without it costing us an arm and a leg. Like me, you might be thinking that it’s a bit early to be shopping for an outfit for the spring races, however, the risk in leaving your decision close to the event is that you are likely to end up wearing something you’re not completely happy with, or you find you just don’t have the money to get what you really want...

Any study of human psychology around investing always reveals how sentiment is heightened at the end of bull and bear markets. Too many investors tend to enter the market near the top and exit near the bottom. I find this interesting because these facts are widely known by investors and traders, and I have never conducted a seminar where those attending did not finish my sentence when I mentioned "amateurs buy at the top and sell at the bottom". Obviously, educated investors do the opposite by buying near the bottom and selling near the top...