finance

With so much capital changing hands through estate transfers in the next few years, the potential for confusion and contention is high. A new whitepaper from Foresters Financial serves as a reminder that there are other alternatives to traditional estate planning.

Key to the ongoing survival of Foresters, the CEO explained, has been the ability to continually reinvent its product offering over generations while retaining its core ethos of being a member-owned friendly society.

Even the RBA is extolling the virtues of the role non-bank and private lenders play in Australia’s financial ecosystem, with the sector providing investors with another critical path to volatility protection through diversification.

Transferring wealth between estates can be problematic, but investment bonds can add surety by dint of their position outside of a deceased estate according to Foresters Financial.

At this point companies have so many avenues to raise capital that listing in only one of several options. As a result companies are staying private for longer, and direct investors are taking notice.

Private equity may provide outsized returns, but it comes with a liquidity catch. Traditional listed equity investing doesn’t, but it has its own drawbacks. Combine the two, says HMC’s Victoria Hardie, and you have a better balance.

Growth in superannuation drove Australia’s managed fund industry to near-record levels in the December 2022 quarter. While most asset classes delivered positive returns and Australian equities outperformed, investors are looking more to offshore assets for portfolio diversification.

Dollar-cost averaging allows investors to be in the market for the good days as well as the bad. This can help reduce exposure to market declines, as recent research shines light on the difficulty of timing the market.

As the RBA’s rate hiking campaign appears to approach its peak, investors looking to lock in term deposits should shop around to find the best rates, analysts say, warning that the complacent risk missing out.

Australian non-bank lenders are making incursions against the big banks, but have many considerations during the loan decision making process to ensure proper loan structuring.

A global study has shown that the problems faced by the Big4 are universal; incumbent banks may have the data, products, infrastructure and capital, but it doesn’t guarantee customer primacy.

Higher rates are leading to property prices rolling over and investors rushing for the exits. As ever, though, in times of pressure loan serviceability remains key.