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Recent Questions & Answers

Investment Bonds as a Long Term Wealth Building Strategy

Paul Rickard

What are your opinions on Investment Bonds as a long term wealth building strategy compared against directly investing in a share portfolio outside of super?

Currently I am contributing almost the full cap to super but wish to build wealth outside of super to cover the transition say from early retirement to when super can be accessed. My wife and I are 33 and each earn around $96K (plus receiving 12% and 17% employer contributions respectively), have about $200K in equity in our home, and a small share portfolio around $20K.

Going forward our intentions are to invest more into shares but will obviously be paying income tax on distributions at 39% and CGT when sold. The lower tax rate on investment bonds and CGT free nature seems like a good option especially when the same investment products are available (e.g. Vanguard index funds).

Are there hidden disadvantages other than locking the money away for 10 years?

 


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Is CSL Overpriced?

Paul Rickard

I am thinking of selling my CSL shares. I bought them at $97 and they are now trading at about $140. Have they become over priced? What do you think?

 
Regards

 


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Investing Offshore

Paul Rickard

You often mention investing in overseas stocks! I have been investing with my SMSF for the past 20 years or so in Aussie stocks only simply because I cannot research overseas stocks like I can with Aussie shares. Considering that in 2008 we hit around 6900 index against the Dow Jones at 13000 and today we still cannot get anywhere near the 6900, whereas the Dow Jones is over 23000!

My question is can you recommend the top performing overseas funds (Europe & America etc… not emerging markets) so that I can hopefully rely on them to give growth?

 


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Business Tax-Cuts and Profits

Paul Rickard

By cutting taxes for small business, will my doctor employ an extra receptionist, my accountant an extra clerk, and my workshop an extra mechanic? By cutting taxes to big business, will Woollies have more assistants at the tills, and fewer self-service desks?

So isn’t cutting taxes for businesses just giving them more profit, NOT more jobs? If we don’t cut tax for BHP, Rio and the banks, will they leave Australia? They are not paying all their taxes anyway.

 
Please explain.

 
Thanks.

 


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