Money Magazine December 2020 / January 2021

Money magazine was launched in July 1999. To my adult kids’ amusement, I keep the first cover shot on my study wall, showing a much younger Paul Clitheroe. Not a trace of grey hair! The headline was “Shares – Getting it Right”. Mind you, if you invested back in 1999, it was pretty hard to get it wrong. CBA was around $9.50, BHP $11.50, Woolworths $5.50 and so on. Sure, there will always be a few bad performers in any portfolio, which is why at Money we always suggest you spread your risk by owning a number of companies, or invest via a fund, ETF or your super. But as history would lead you to expect, despite the GFC and now Covid-19, patient, diversified shareholders have been well rewarded with…

Money magazine was launched in July 1999. To my adult kids’ amusement, I keep the first cover shot on my study wall, showing a much younger Paul Clitheroe. Not a trace of grey hair! The headline was “Shares – Getting it Right”. Mind you, if you invested back in 1999, it was pretty hard to get it wrong. CBA was around $9.50, BHP $11.50, Woolworths $5.50 and so on. Sure, there will always be a few bad performers in any portfolio, which is why at Money we always suggest you spread your risk by owning a number of companies, or invest via a fund, ETF or your super. But as history would lead you to expect, despite the GFC and now Covid-19, patient, diversified shareholders have been well rewarded with capital…

Firstly, thanks for such an informative magazine. I just have a couple of suggestions for future articles. 1. Rental property sales. There have been many articles on deductions for rental properties and all mention depreciation – such as building depreciation – but most neglect to mention that such deductions have to be considered when you sell the property and need to calculate capital gains. An article to address things that need to be included when working out capital gains (losses) would be useful so that appropriate records are kept. 2. Performance of portfolios. There are many published tables, articles and advertisements mentioning performance of shares, managed funds, trusts, exchange traded funds, etc. It would be useful to know how these are calculated so that individual investors can compare like with like. Are…

Support for mental illness I must admit I laughed when I read about the cost of mental ill health to the economy (November issue, page 12). As an unlucky working Aussie with a mental health diagnosis, I feel I must “apologise” for the $10 billion-$18 billion it is costing the Australian business sector! Speaking with the voice of those who work, invest, save and spend into the Australian economy, who just happen to have a health diagnosis in the mental health area, I would prefer our illness to be treated as just that, an illness that requires ease of access to sick leave and medical care. Our esteemed medical experts and scientists are successfully providing the latter. What the corporate and business sector can do is support the first aspect…

If I could rewind to the start of 2020, I would have said, hang on to your hats, it’s going to be a hellish ride ahead. But we survived. If you got through 2020 with your wallet intact, well done. If you had to turn your saving and spending habits upside down, we can relate – and we hope our featured articles in the past six issues, all devoted to swimming in unchartered waters, have helped you get there. Looking back, I am particularly grateful to our editorial team and contributors for finding us the answers to those important questions, including how to avail of government assistance if you’re a small business, how to invest if you’re starting from scratch, and how to handle those curly situations where family and finance…

Firstly, thanks for such an informative magazine. I just have a couple of suggestions for future articles. 1. Rental property sales. There have been many articles on deductions for rental properties and all mention depreciation – such as building depreciation – but most neglect to mention that such deductions have to be considered when you sell the property and need to calculate capital gains. An article to address things that need to be included when working out capital gains (losses) would be useful so that appropriate records are kept.  2. Performance of portfolios. There are many published tables, articles and advertisements mentioning performance of shares, managed funds, trusts, exchange traded funds, etc. It would be useful to know how these are calculated so that individual investors can compare like with…