With the U.S. growing at an anaemic level, and Europe balancing on the brink of recession, we are yet to see signs of meaningful recovery from the global financial crisis. Negative headlines continually rattled the markets with few positives to cheer about, except for perhaps resilient corporate earnings and moderating inflation. We think in 2012 every basis point of return will be hard fought. Regional diversification will need to be firmly in place, as the economic centre of gravity will continue to shift eastward. As returns from traditional investments remain flat, alternatives will rise in importance and volatility, while certainly causing market stress, will also bring opportunities for dynamically-managed portfolios.  

As a retiree, your finances are at their most vulnerable at the point when you retire. At this time, there is significantly less money being contributed (if any) and the value of your portfolio relies heavily on the investment returns received. If these returns are poor in the early years following retirement, it can have devastating effects on your portfolio. Keeping a close eye on your retirement assets and altering your investment decisions and retirement goals in the early years can significantly change your future financial position for the better.  

For many SMSF trustees, the events of the GFC really put the pressure on to ‘do something’. Scared, angry and sometimes even panicked, many people felt that action needed to be taken over the rapidly falling value of their portfolios. 

As the SMSF market continues to mature, the number of trustees entering retirement is growing. Currently, 67% of all SMSF trustees are aged over 50 and 19.4% are over age 64. This ageing group is going to put pressure on the SMSF market as a whole as they look to draw a pension from their retirement savings. 

Recent global events have failed to suppress manager appetite for growth assets, according the latest Russell Investments Investment Manager Outlook (IMO). In fact, for the first time in two and a half years Australian managers are favouring international shares over Aussie equities in a sign of increased confidence in a strong recovery across global markets. 

SMSF trustees are achieving better returns than large super funds, according to recent research commissioned by Russell Investments and the Self-managed superfund Professionals Association of Australia (SPAA) and conducted by CoreData-brandmanagement.