Smart Money

  • Swimming against the tide can mean success

    An investment strategy of saying 'yes' when the majority is saying 'no' is workable and can be very rewarding.

  • Six sharemarket myths debunked

    If you think a situation will never happen again because things will be different the next time around, think again. History has a habit of repeating itself.

  • Success stories

    Contrarian investors do the opposite of what is the popular view of the day.

  • Pains and joys of contrarian investing

    Contrarian investing is not for everyone. Doing the opposite to what is the conventional wisdom of the day isn't easy.

  • Real estate re-emerges as an issue

    House prices are emerging as potentially Australia's biggest problem as the economic recovery increases demand pressures in the property market.

  • Penalty tax shock for the unwary

    A doctor runs a successful medical centre and feels she's ahead with super because she's making regular concessional and non-concessional contributions. But a forgotten compulsory contribution from the local hospital where she sometimes contracts triggers a domino effect with her contributions, leading to an extra tax bill of just over $70,000.

  • Super contributions become complicated

    For most people, making super contributions has been a no-brainer. Not any more - if you exceed the caps on different types of contributions you'll pay more in tax, negating the low-tax benefits for which super is always promoted.

  • Staying within the contributions cap

    * Don't forget that the 9 per cent compulsory superannuation paid by a employer counts towards the annual concessional contribution cap. Thousands of employees wrongly believe that only salary-sacrifice contributions count towards the cap, says Suzanne Haddan, managing director of BFG Financial Services.

  • What you'll pay for exceeding the cap

    If you think the maximum tax you'll pay by going over the superannuation contribution caps is 31.5 per cent, you are wrong. How does 93 per cent sound?

  • Concessional super contributions cap

    If you are under 50, your annual cap for concessional super contributions is $25,000. If you are over 50, it is $50,000 until July 2012 when it will revert to $25,000.

  • Losses and gains still need to be applied

    Can frozen losses be applied against capital gains if it is necessary to sell assets? John Wasiliev answers your questions.

  • Shares still have the edge despite fears about safety

    No one can be certain but many people suspect that there are a lot of self-directed investors - most notably those running their own super funds - who are still huddled for safety in bank term deposits and other fixed interest investments rather than in shares.

  • DIY super borrowing gets green light

    The Rudd government appears to have decided that do-it-yourself super funds borrowing to make investments in shares and property is an acceptable strategy.

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