Mark Beyer

NEXT time you look at the performance of the Australian stockmarket, it might pay to look closely at how that performance is measured.

THE crackdown by the Australian Tax Office on agricultural investment schemes has led to a renewal of interest in gearing as a tax minimisation strategy.

JAMES Doogue, one of the stalwarts of Perth’s financial planning community, is winding down his involvement in the industry.

DIVERSIFICATION is widely accep-ted as one of the fundamentals of good financial management: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”, we are frequently told.But what does this mean in practice? How far should investors take the concept?

THIS year’s Federal Budget had good news for more than 100,000 investors in Listed Investment Companies (LICs).

SHARES versus property? It is a perennial topic of debate among Australian investors.

JUDGING by the media coverage and public debate during the past year, the only tax change anybody seems to worry about is the introduction of the GST.

RESERVE Bank governor Ian Macfarlane has issued a warning about the regulation of 10,000 small and medium sized superannuation funds supervised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.

RECENT controversy over tax-driven investment schemes has left many investors wondering if they should put money into this sector.

LAST week this column provided a broad introduction to the warrants market. This week, we discuss a number of trading and investment opportunities using warrants.

A NEW investment product from Societe Generale illustrates the diversity of the warrants market.SG CaPELS are promoted as the first stock market investment guaranteed not to lose principal.

ROTHSCHILD Australia Asset Management has become the latest fund manager to enter the fast growing ethical investment field.

AUSTRALIA’S warrants market celebrates its 10th birthday this year, in good health and once again growing rapidly after the setback of 1999 and 2000.

RISK-return trade-off is a phrase widely used in the investment industry. But what does it mean in practice? How does the average investor decide if their portfolio is generating suitable returns to justify the risk?

DEUTSCHE Financial Planning’s Perth office has officially adopted its new Godfrey Pembroke trading name.

INTERNATIONAL shares have provided outstanding returns for Australian investors over the past decade but recent events have prompted some advisers to become much more cautious.

THE recent staff shuffle at BT Funds Management and AMP Henderson Global Investors has posed the question: How important are individuals to the performance of a fund manager?

SETTING up a self-managed superannuation fund is a popular option for investors.More than 214,000 small funds have been set up in Australia, with about 420,000 members.

WITH the sharemarket performing poorly over the past year, many investors will be tempted to sell shares.If they are in the red, they may be tempted to cut their losses.

WHEN most people think of ethical investments, companies like Energy Developments and Pacific Hydro, which make “green” energy, usually spring to mind.

FROM a standing start less than two years ago, hybrid securities have become a highly popular investment product.

MANY investors seeking the safe haven of blue chip stocks have experienced a rocky ride over recent months.

FINANCIAL planning group RetireInvest has opened a new city office and plans to follow up with 10 new franchisees around the State.