The ATO recently sent letters to 18,000 SMSF trustees with potentially inadequate diversification, which sent a lot of recipients and their advisers into a spin. So what is the ATO really looking for when they regulate the SMSF sector?

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In this helpful and engaging conversation, ATO Deputy Commissioner for SMSF Dana Fleming outlines the ATO’s programme of work, including:

Their real level of concern about borrowing in Super

What constitutes a well diversified fund, and what doesn’t

The implications of not lodging your fund’s return on time, and

How to get it right and stay in the ATO’s good books.

You can access this and previous episodes of the Your Wealth podcast now on iTunes, Podbean, Spotify or at nabtrade.com.au/yourwealth

If you’re short on time, consider listening at 1.5-2x speed, which should be shown on the screen of your device as you listen. This won’t just reduce your listening time; it has also been shown to improve knowledge retention.

While the overall results looked mildly positive, there were some warning signs in the latest reporting season, for specific sectors and the outlook for the ASX in general.

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AMP Capital’s renowned economist Shane Oliver breaks down these results to reveal:

Which sectors performed well and which look disappointing

Why investors should be nervous about dividends going forward

Why the Australian economy continues to grow despite downturns in retail and housing, and

Where to invest as the outlook sours.

You can access this and previous episodes of the Your Wealth podcast now on iTunes, Podbean, Spotify or at nabtrade.com.au/yourwealth

If you’re short on time, consider listening at 1.5-2x speed, which should be shown on the screen of your device as you listen. This won’t just reduce your listening time; it has also been shown to improve knowledge retention.

With interest rates at unprecedented lows in Australia, the search for yield is pushing investors into new assets and asset structures to boost their income. Lower yields may result in higher risk strategies, however; how do investors avoid falling income along with falling rates?

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In this timely conversation, Gopi Karunakaran of Ardea Asset Management discusses:

Why Australian Government bonds have delivered 12% return year to date, despite a yield of less than 2%

The vanishing yield cushion, and why investor need to consider its implications

Achieving uncorrelated returns in credit and bond markets, and

What credit markets are trying to tell us about the world economy.

You can access this and previous episodes of the Your Wealth podcast now on iTunes, Podbean, Spotify or at nabtrade.com.au/yourwealth

This podcast is somewhat longer than usual, so if you’re short on time, consider listening at 1.5-2x speed, which should be shown on the screen of your device as you listen. This won’t just reduce your listening time; it has also been shown to improve knowledge retention.

We all know someone who has fallen victim to a scam – a phone call purporting to be from Telstra, a link supposedly from your bank, PayPal or the ATO. The world of scamming has become increasingly and terrifyingly sophisticated, and you’re at risk. Far from a kid with a laptop in their parent’s basement, scammers are now likely to work with hundreds of others, have targets and procedure manuals – and be very well trained to convince you of their legitimacy.

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After a close friend lost $3,000 to a phone scammer purporting to be from NAB, Gemma Dale interviewed Tara McCarthy from NAB Security to understand – and help you understand:

The most common types of scams, from phishing and malware to computer ransoms

Why phishing is now targeted, as scammers match details from stolen databases with your publicly available information

How the Brisbane City Council lost $450,000 to the kind of scam being directed at small business, and

What you can do to protect yourself.

You can access this and previous episodes of the Your Wealth podcast now on iTunes, Podbean, Spotify or at nabtrade.com.au/yourwealth

This podcast is somewhat longer than usual, so if you’re short on time, consider listening at 1.5-2x speed, which should be shown on the screen of your device as you listen. This won’t just reduce your listening time; it has also been shown to improve knowledge retention.

Chris Joye, AFR columnist and portfolio manager at Coolabah Capital, is a prolific and thought-provoking commentator on economic and credit topics; he also runs a number of credit strategies which are unlike the traditional buy-and-hold fixed income strategies most retail investors are generally familiar with. So is this area of credit for you, and how do you make room for it in a traditional portfolio? 

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In part one of this lengthy and insightful discussion, Chris tells:

Why he only buys floating (rather than fixed) rate securities,

Why he thinks Australian term deposits offer very good value,

Why the hybrid market is imperfectly priced, offering potential for excess returns

At which point he believes bank shares will be worth buying, and

How to get ‘edge’ and deliver meaningful returns in fixed income.

You can access this and previous episodes of the Your Wealth podcast now on iTunes, Podbean, Spotify or at nabtrade.com.au/yourwealth

This podcast is somewhat longer than usual, so if you’re short on time, consider listening at 1.5-2x speed, which should be shown on the screen of your device as you listen. This won’t just reduce your listening time; it has also been shown to improve knowledge retention.

Given its powers, it’s generally a good idea to understand the ATO’s views on how to manage your affairs – and comply with them. Thankfully with SMSFs, it’s not that hard, so long as you keep up to date.

----more----In this relaxed and plain English discussion, ATO Deputy Commissioner for SMSF, Dana Fleming, explains:

The ATO’s view on good – and not so good – reasons to start an SMSF

Common mistakes that can bring you undone (and Gemma’s five-minute fix for the biggest)

Investment strategies that are likely to attract the ATO’s attention, and

How to ensure you stay in the good books, and keep your retirement dollars safe.

You can access this and previous episodes of the Your Wealth podcast now on iTunes, Podbean, Spotify or at nabtrade.com.au/yourwealth

If you’d like a regular snapshot of the major developments in world finance, NAB Markets produces a hugely popular daily podcast, The Morning Call, which you can access here.

Markets around the world have been rocked by Trump’s tariffs and concerns about Chinese retaliation. But how much does this really have to do with Australia? When two of our biggest trading partners start limiting trade, are we likely to win or lose?

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What tariffs have been imposed and proposed by the US and how China has responded

The likely global impact of these barriers and who bears the cost

The major drivers of the Australian economy and how these are likely to be affected, and

What circumstances must arise in order for the domestic outlook to darken.

You can access this and previous episodes of the Your Wealth podcast now on iTunes, Podbean, Spotify or at nabtrade.com.au/yourwealth

If you’d like a regular snapshot of the major developments in world finance, Nab Markets produces a hugely popular daily podcast, The Morning Call, which you can access here.

Australian official interest rates are now at 1%, and markets predict them to go lower. While this is a first for Australia, other developed countries have lived with zero or even negative interest rates for a decade now (much longer in the case of Japan). So how can investors respond to this environment?

----more----This week, Gemma Dale speaks with Anthony Doyle, Global Cross Asset Investment Specialist at Fidelity, about the outlook for investors, including:

What negative real interest rates look like in practice

How investors around the world have responded to falling and zero interest rates

Which investment opportunities look compelling in this context, and

What lower rates could mean for the Australian property market.

You can access this and previous episodes of the Your Wealth podcast now on iTunes, Podbean, Spotify or at nabtrade.com.au/yourwealth

If you are pressed for time, consider listening at 1.5x or 2x the usual speed – this can actually improve your retention of information while saving time.

Despite the numbers and the headlines, markets are simply comprised of individual buyers and sellers making decisions about where to place their money. The choice to buy or sell a stock can be as much an emotional one as a rational one, and the ability to manage our feelings can greatly improve our financial outcomes.

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Bestselling author Louise Bedford of The Trading Game shares her thoughts on how your emotions can affect your finances, including:

Why scared money never wins

How to assess the credibility of an investment before you hand over your money

What female traders do differently, that can make them more successful than men

How long you need to invest for, and

How to seek out quality education to improve your decision making and understanding of markets.

You can access this and previous episodes of the Your Wealth podcast now on iTunes, Podbean, Spotify or at nabtrade.com.au/yourwealth

If you are pressed for time, consider listening at 1.5x or 2x the usual speed – this can actually improve your retention of information while saving time.

While Australia’s tech darlings have achieved spectacular share price growth, the global tech behemoths continue to dominate markets. These ‘growth’ companies are trading on eye watering multiples in many cases, while less glamorous companies languish on valuations well below their long run averages. The divergence in valuation between growth and value stocks has not been this great since 1999.

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So what is an investor to do? In this informative podcast, Julian McCormack of Platinum International discusses:

Why investors continue to buy growth, despite the decreasing likelihood their investment will pay off

Historical comparisons when markets reached such a wide dispersion of valuations

The concept of the ‘new normal’ in a world of zero interest rates

A reality check for investors on the Nasdaq, which dropped 75% in 2000 and didn’t make a new high for 15 years, and

Thoughts on how to seek out companies with a strong track record of delivering value.

You can access this and previous episodes of the Your Wealth podcast now on iTunes, Podbean, Spotify or at nabtrade.com.au/yourwealth

If you are pressed for time, consider listening at 1.5x or 2x the usual speed – this can actually improve your retention of information while saving time.