Mark Beyer

MONITOR Money has become the fourth Australian financial advisory network owned by AXA Asia Pacific.AXA announced last week the purchase of Monitor Money and a leading New Zealand advisory group, Spicers, for $201 million.

A NEW survey has found that most Australians are failing to save enough to achieve their own financial goals in retirement.

A GOVERNMENT discussion paper has floated major changes to rules governing superannuation funds, while at the same time acknowledging that potential problems are focused on a small sub-set of funds.

INVESTORS with a self-managed super fund have been presented with some new alternatives that aim to retain the benefits of a do-it-yourself approach but without the hassles.

THE rapid growth of master funds has been one of the defining trends in financial services during the past decade.Wrap accounts, which provide essentially the same service, also have attracted keen support in recent years.

ONLY about one quarter of Australians with superannuation are making personal contributions, a new survey has found.

ONLINE share traders are an optimistic bunch, judging by the results of the inaugural Sanford Trading Activity Report.

THE collapse of the Corrections Corporation Staff Superannuation Fund (CCA) stemmed mainly from the forced sale of one major asset, a new report has found.

ONE of the frustrating aspects of superannuation is the difficulty we have working out the impact of the various fees and charges.

WHILE packaging can be advantageous, it is not always the best option, even for high-income earners.

THE practice of salary packaging has continued to be surprisingly popular, despite the introduction of the fringe benefits tax in the mid 1980s.The FBT has greatly reduced the scope for packaging but has certainly not ended the practice.

THE overall winner of this year’s ASSIRT Service Level survey was the Navigator master fund.

IN the current financial climate the launch of a new online investment and share trading service seems an unlikely proposition.

DO you have a will? If so, is it up to date? While many people will answer ‘yes’ to the first question, most of these will reply in the negative to the second.

The cheapest option is to prepare the will yourself. Do-it-yourself kits with instructions and sample wills can be bought from newsagents or via web sites like www.legalwills.com.au for between $25 and $40.

MANAGED funds, also known as unit trusts, are one of the most significant elements of Australia’s investment landscape.

THE most popular category of unit trusts last financial year was international share funds, according to the latest ASSIRT Market Share Report.

INVESTORS wanting to assess the growing range of ethical investment funds now have the assistance of a specialist ratings agency.

THERE are three main types of ethical screen that investment managers can apply.

CASH management trusts have long been a popular option for savers and investors, but a new variant of the traditional product is attracting increased support.

A SURVEY by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has found poor compliance in the running of smaller mortgage schemes.

AUSTRALIA’S superannuation funds have just produced their lowest annual returns for the past 10 years. And for the first time in a decade, inflation (6 per cent per annum) was higher than the median return.

CHALLENGER International was the star performer among professional managers of Australian shares in the year to June 2001.

ALL Western Australian workers have compulsory superannuation, but how many people have compared their super fund with the alternatives?

MORE than 30 online broking firms are currently chasing customers in Australia and, not surprisingly, the level of competition is fierce.

INVESTORS in two cash-based managed funds have received an untimely reminder that even ‘low risk’ investments can run into serious problems.

FOR many investors, the past financial year will be remembered for the plunging share price of ‘blue chip’ stocks such as Telstra, Coles Myer and Lend Lease.

TWO financial and investment advisory groups, Johnson Taylor Potter (JTP) and DFS, changed hands last week.Bell Securities has effectively rescued JTP by injecting $15 million into the business to acquire a controlling stake.

A NEW boutique financial services company has achieved early success in carving out a niche in the Western Australian market.

ADVERTISEMENTS for computer share trading software offering quick and easy returns have been hard to avoid over the past two to three years.

A POPULAR saying in financial planning circles is that “people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan”.One of the hindrances to good planning is that many people simply don’t know where to start.

PERTH investors wanting to buy international shares have, until recen-tly, faced major logistical challenges.