The following article was generously contributed by a regular reader and commenter. I hope you enjoy reading West Wind’s journey as much as I did. He raises some interesting questions those considering retirement should consider.
Before starting, let me make it clear that I am not an Accountant or a Financial Adviser. This is just a tale of how one individual managed the transition from everyday share punter to contented self-funded retiree. For more intricate detail, seek professional advice.
Having started investing in shares during my student days, my early experience was …

Jeremy Cooper, the superannuation reviewer not the brewer, has released A Conversation About SMSFs. This document is as refreshing Cooper’s Pale Ale, Cooper even leads off with a Coopers joke.
I encourage all SMSF trustees to read the document, though in summary Cooper says SMSFs are doing well and despite concentrated asset allocations* are performing as good as if not better than other investment vehicles.
SMSFs might be able to aspire to this [excellent performance] because:

SMSFs can pursue asset allocations that would be difficult to implement in an APRA-regulated fund;
SMSFs can have longer-term investment …

Today I linked in with a past colleague, boss, inspiration and guy to whom I at least once undelivered during my SAP days. This is for him, hopefully it’s a starting point for discussion.
Here’s my starting point for funds management (FM) in Australia. There are a few other excellent slides in the presentation. Three of the FM segments are ripe for disruption. Savy asset managers should be aiming to eliminate the middle man and increase their personal stickiness preferably with performance.

Smart consumers should be making this so for themselves right now. Eliminate …

It’s that time of the year again. How did you investments perform in 2009?

The Super System Review is examining Australia’s superannuation system in three phases. Today the Cooper Review will release the phase three issue paper. Here’s the timeline for the review.

There’s been some great if obvious findings so far.

MORE than $13 million a day is being sucked from Australian retirement savings because of underperforming retail superannuation funds and commissions paid to financial planners…via Business Age

Trish Power at SuperGuide.com.au highlighted the following which has been on my draft list for a while. Not only do SMSF’s hold the most funds they also outperform all other fund types. SMSF’s are providing interesting insights into whether individual investors can outperform institutions.
The money held in DIY super funds, officially called self-managed super funds (SMSFs) exceeds the super money invested via retail funds (28.4%, $306 billion) industry funds (17.7%, $191 billion), public sector funds (14.1%, $152 billion) and corporate super funds (5.1%, $55 billion) according to figures released byAPRA on 24 September 2009. …

A quick look under out SMSF and a Fusion Portfolio update.

It is essential to understand and more importantly appreciate the power of compounding to fully grasp the cost of something, whether it’s a service or software or a one off-cost. Christina from SMSF Investment Strategies left a comment on my Preparing your own Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF) Tax post that she thought you had to use software like BGL’s Simple Fund to prepare your accounts and tax. That reminded me why I choose not to use BGL or any other paid software for my SMSF accounts. The short answer …

This is an idiots guide (I’m the idiot) to preparing your own SMSF tax return.
BUT wait there’s more, a free SMSF tax and CGT calculation spreadsheet, that’s worth every cent you’ll pay for it!
I’ve prepared by own SMSF accounts and tax return for the last couple years and will be doing so again this year. This time around I thought I make some notes on the process to help or perhaps hinder anyone else considering preparing their own tax filing.
You don’t need to be an accountant to file your SMSF …

How to establish your own SMSF.