[Smart Investing] The paradoxical decades

Investments and personal finance insights from Vanguard Australia

22 January 2020 Happy new year to one and all. The sombre start to the year with the bushfire crisis serves as a salutary reminder that things do not always go to plan - sometimes dramatically. It also underscores the value of having a long-term financial plan. At Vanguard we talk a lot about the need for a diversified portfolio when it comes to financial planning. But diversification goes beyond merely ensuring you're investing in different asset classes. It means putting together a plan that isn't just focussed on your retirement path but also on your journey towards retirement. It's a plan that allows for the unexpected and can help mitigate some of the risks and cushion the impact of such events, whether through insurance or some other form of a safety net, fall back plan. Because in life not everything goes neatly to plan and unforeseen events can and will blow us off course. Having a solid plan can help us get back on track. I'd like to thank those who took the time to fill in the recent Smart Investing reader survey. The feedback provided allowed us to learn a bit more about you and understand how we can continue to better deliver on our commitment to impart the knowledge we have and give investors the best chance at investment success. We will be introducing several new improvements to the newsletter in the coming weeks and I look forward to telling you more about them. Robin Bowerman Head of Corporate Affairs Vanguard Australia

The paradoxical decades By Robin Bowerman Despite unprecedented levels of political and economic uncertainty, the 2010s delivered the best 10-year period returns over multiple asset classes in recent history. Read more

Some SMSFs remain overloaded with cash By Tony Kaye How much cash is too much? It's a question that many self-managed superannuation fund trustees should be asking themselves in an investment environment where the highest term deposit yields on offer is just 1.75 per cent. Read more

Super returns and the importance of diversification By Tony Kaye It was a strong investment year for managed superannuation funds generally and, likewise, should have been for self-managed superannuation fund trustees. Read more

Vanguard in the news Fixed income ETFs prosper despite low rates Financial Standard | Harrison Worley | 14 Jan 2020 According to new figures released by the Australian Securities Exchange and Vanguard, investors are doubling down on their commitment to exchange traded funds, with the sector registering inflows of $13.7 billion across 2019, well over the $8 billion it turned in during 2018.The latest figures show ETF assets are growing at a compound annual growth rate of more than 23% over the past five years, which Vanguard head of ETF capital markets for Asia Pacific Minh Tieu put down to more investors jumping on board with ETFs than ever before. To read more, please visit the Financial Standard website. Please note the link above will show a copy of the article (where freely available), or the publisher's website if a subscription is required.

In case you missed it The value of a financial adviser By Daniel Reyes As the year winds down, it is a good time to plan for the next year and determine if you need to do anything differently to achieve your financial goals. Read more Fixed income ETFs 101 By Robin Bowerman Australia's first ETF was launched in 2001. In the eighteen years since, Australians have collectively invested over $53 billion across 200 products listed on the ASX. Read more

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