If you’re the eldest sibling in the family, or deemed to be the “most responsible”; if you’re seen to be a good friend by someone; or a fine upstanding citizen by others, chances are you will be asked to be an executor of someone’s will. After you’ve enjoyed the warm feeling of being wanted, just pause for a moment and take stock of what it really means to assume this most important role. You need to be aware that when the person dies, you will be required to spend a significant amount of time executing your responsibilities – and these […]

Unfortunately, many of us learn the principles of sound saving and investment practices the hard way through trial and error. And often these lessons are finally learnt, if ever, by the time we are in the countdown to retirement. Just imagine the possible state of your investment portfolio if you had understood and followed these principles – which can be disarmingly simple – at the beginning of your working and earning life. If only you could make up for any lost years of investment opportunities. Online investment newsletter Cuffelinks asked 37 well-known investment and economic specialists to briefly answer this […]

Think about what has happened in the six months since Treasury secretary John Fraser spoke of his concerns for retirement savings of parents who help their children into housing by making withdrawals from “the bank of mum and dad”. House prices in Sydney and Melbourne have continued to accelerate and, anecdotally at least, so has parental financial assistance with their children’s first home. Fraser is worried that helping children into costly housing, as homebuyers or tenants, may inhibit their own abilities to save for retirement, including through their super. Parents can find themselves trying to cope with something of a […]