Deductibility Matters
Defined Contribution Participant Perspectives: Fourth in a Series In the heat of the tax reform debate last fall one trial balloon hovering over Capitol Hill was the full or partial “Rothification” of 401(k) contributions. ‘Nobody maxes their contributions,’ the argument went (close to true, it’s under 10%) and ‘Nobody will notice if they are contributing […]
Read more...Impact of VAT increase effective 1 April 2018
National Treasury announced an increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) from 14% to 15%, to take effect on the 01 April 2018. Although the increase to the end consumer of 1% can be seen as relatively small, as part of the bigger picture the potential amount of time, resources and effort affecting the entire short term insurance industry is massive […]
Read more...AE: 10 million reasons why you’d rather be an asset manager than shopowner
In around 10 days, the UK embarks on an experiment of grand proportions when minimum contribution rates for defined contribution (DC) pensions rise from 2% of salary to 8% over just 12 months. A major contribution of the auto-enrolment (AE) of workers has been to highlight the gaping hole in UK pensions coverage. At […]
Read more...LICs: the end of the gravy train?
Like other listed structures, listed investment companies have experienced significant growth in recent years, with 16 IPOs in 2017 for a total new issuance of almost $4.5 bn (compared to 11 IPOs of just over $1bn in 2016), including the massive $1.5bn Magellan Global Trust. However, Magellan has done more than just raise a significant […]
Read more...Paint my Retirement
Defined Contribution Participant Perspectives: Third in a Series How do active DC participants envision their retirement? Of eight retirement scenarios tested, “working at least part-time” is by far the most prevalent at 49%; only 24% of today’s participants expect to be in a position to travel extensively, for example, while barely a fifth (21%) expect […]
Read more...2018 Budget Review
The 2018 budget has been crafted under difficult and fragile environment such as risk of credit downgrade by Moody’s, continual gradual decoration of economic growth, high political tension within the ruling party, decline in tax revenue and subdued business and consumer confidence. Make yourself aware of the important issues that the budget addressed.
Read more...Retail super funds missing their golden opportunity
Retail superannuation should be having its time in the sun. Retail funds are targeted at the wealthier end of town (a segment that has been growing rapidly as the system matures), particularly those nearing or entering retirement (clearly the baby boomers are driving growth in this segment). The complex regulatory environment notwithstanding, the superannuation market […]
Read more...Retirement Confidence Ebbs
Defined Contribution Participant Perspectives: Second in a Series With (generally) frothy equity values, sizzling GDP growth, improving labor force participation rates and buoyant participant economic attitudes, DC participants should be cruising into a golden age of confidence and engagement. It may be coming, but we haven’t seen it yet. On the contrary, the same participants […]
Read more...Happy Days are Here Again (?)
Defined Contribution Participant Perspectives: First in a Series When it comes to the big economic picture, active DC participants today are happier and more secure than at any point in the seven-year history of these measurements. The proportion of participants expecting a recession has declined steadily over the years; at 16% this level is about […]
Read more...Listed structures for asset managers: golden opportunity or fool’s gold?
The business of retail asset management was – in hindsight – a simple affair even up until the first part of this century. Clients sought advice, planners sold managed funds on platforms, asset managers charged fees and funded much of the value chain. The retail landscape has become much more complex. ETFs, ETMFs, LICs, IMAs, […]
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