Superannuation Discussion + market volatility

A couple of questions
I assume there are some on AFF who manage their SMSF investments without the involvement of a financial advisor/fund manager (understand you need trustees, accountancy etc)

Clearly its cheaper but what do you see as the downsides?
What platform do you use?
 
A couple of questions
I assume there are some on AFF who manage their SMSF investments without the involvement of a financial advisor/fund manager (understand you need trustees, accountancy etc)

Clearly its cheaper but what do you see as the downsides?
What platform do you use?
We had an SMSF for twenty years but eventually moved to an Industry fund as we got older. The downsides? Keeping up with investment strategies. If you trade in shares then that requires constant monitoring. We had some great wins but also the downers. Our best investment was actually land. We bought one year for around $100k then sold two years later for over double. But timing was lucky. It was on a river on the lower Murray and then we had that drought two years after we sold. The price halved again. We never borrowed in the super fund.

Our accountant merely managed the FY year reports and the auditor. We didn't seek his financial advice. While we trusted his broad outlook we didn't trust so much his details judgement. He was often asking asking what shares we bought (we might then sell but not necessarily let him know) then found out he'd held on for a loss while we had made a profit. He hated the land purchase. 😂. But not after the sale.

We used MYOB to track all bank accounts. And simply used the tools available in the share trading platform.

We would absolutely do the SMSF again because the timing for us age wise and time wise was right. But in our world, we also did the right thing eventually switching to the Industry fund as the financial world seemed a bit more chaotic and we felt the collective industry funds would have better resources to monitor it all.
 
Interesting and perhaps helpful information for those wondering how much they'll need in retirement.
I can do comfortable on a lot less than the $67,000 they mention for couple.

If I spend $240/week on groceries there's no need to spend close to $100/week eating out. We may spend $100/month maximum eating out or take away. It's so easy to cook at home. Much easier than the effort to eat out.

I have to laugh at $28/week on barber/hairdresser. Who spends that amount? I may spend $15 on a haircut x 6 times a year but can be much less. The hairdresser in the village in Chiang Mai charges 50 baht each for a trim for my wife and daughter and last time we also gave her tim-tams and souvenir cap.

No need for streaming services, taxis, alcohol, cinemas, domestic vacations etc. Put all this expenditure on 3 economy class trips to Thailand a year. Possibly a fourth trip if can stretch budget.

Anyway to each their own and their own definition of comfortable.
 
Seeking some general advice as to how catching up on unused concessional caps work please.

I am looking to maximise salary sacrificing to make additional concessional contributions for any unused cap amounts from the previous five years. I'm unclear as to how the contributions are allocated. Do the funds get applied to the oldest year first?

For eg, if according to the MyGov/ATO website, I have say $4,000 unused from my concessional caps in the previous five years, any contributions over the $30k concessional cap this year goes to which of the years first? I assume the MyGov/ATO website would be updated to show where the contributions have be allocated?
 
HESTA in the investments I've chosen range from 7.8 - 12.7 with sustainable performing at the low end. Most is in Balanced which was 10.7%.
 
Same for me. For a plain vanilla balanced option that’s not bad. Could be better, could be worse - it’s okay as part of a diversified portfolio

8.46% is on the high end of the long term average

And especially if post tax it’s a pretty good yearly result

Compare to the Comsuper Militarysuper options for various funds including a balanced one
 
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Don’t forget to work on spending kids inheritance which is referred to as SKI.
I have too much wine in the cellar, too many investments and I know at 74 there are things I won’t be able to do in 10 years time. Have 13 months to go in my consulting role and then retirement will be real.
 
So not a 'shocker' then? :)
Many other industry funds seemed to be a fair bit higher (not 100% sure if Aussie Super balanced is a true equivalent of the others' growth options). Likely due to US stock exposure as they have been going gangbusters
 

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