With education costs continuing to outstrip inflation, parents can expect to pay more for their children’s future education, whether or not recommendations in the Gonski Report* into education are adopted, warns Mr Matt Walsh, head of Lifeplan Funds Management. Read More

Anyone who has made additional contributions to superannuation, or changed arrangements in any way, should check their position before the end of the financial year to make sure they haven’t inadvertently breached any of the rules, says Mr Michael Hutton of HLB Mann Judd Sydney. Read More

Lifeplan Funds Management’s NextGen Investments and Lifeplan Education Investment Fund (LEIF) investment products have been updated and redesigned to comply with the new regulations the business expects when FOFA is introduced. In addition, the NextGen bond offers a new and … Read More

While the potential risk of lost opportunity caused by tying up cash in term deposits is by itself a powerful argument for preferring bonds in a fixed interest strategy, there are other persuasive reasons to invest in bonds at the moment, Roger Bridges, head of fixed income at Tyndall AM says. Read More

Following a review of the investment menu of its Imputation Bond offering, life insurance company Austock Life has added Equity Trustees Limited’s (EQT) Mortgage Income Fund to the menu. Read More

Australian Unity Investments (AUI) has completed the second phase of the $50 million discounted rights offer for its Healthcare Property Trust (HPT), oversubscribed. Read More

Blaming the high Australian dollar and its volatility for overseas investors’ lack of interest in Australian equities is only part of the story, according to Mr Harvey Kalman, head of corporate fiduciary & financial services at Equity Trustees Limited (EQT). Read More

The survival of many golf clubs depends on their ability to develop strategies to reverse the trends of falling membership, reduced income from non-member green fees, and less clubhouse patronage, the inaugural HLB Mann Judd Sydney survey of local golf clubs shows. Read More

When discussing the capital needed for a comfortable retirement, the likely cost of aged care needs to be included in the planning, warns Philip Galagher, head of wealth management at Equity Trustees Limited. Read More

Listed financial services company Equity Trustees Limited (EQT) has appointed Anna Hacker to the newly created role of senior manager – estate planning, reporting to Lachlan Wraith, head of personal estates and trusts at EQT. Read More

The office and healthcare property sectors are particularly attractive, but even within these sectors there are some regions weaker than others, according to the Australian Unity Investments Property Outlook 2012. Read More

Shaun Manuell, head of asset management at Equity Trustees Limited, says it is of concern that current commentary about the investor shift to bank deposits does not highlight the capital risk of this approach. Read More

Tony Fittler, managing partner of accountants and advisers HLB Mann Judd Sydney, has warned small business owners of the unfair impact that the proposed cut to small business company tax will have on franking credits already accumulated. Read More

Boutique fixed interest manager Altius Asset Management has finalised its investment advisory committee with the appointments of senior industry figures Don Stammer, Tony Fitzgerald and Wayne Jarman as members. Read More

Australian Unity Investments (AUI) is raising up to $28.9 million in a discounted rights offer to fund the proposed expansion of three of the 22 properties owned by its Healthcare Property Trust (HPT) – The Valley Private Hospital, Peninsula Private Hospital and Beleura Private Hospital. Read More

Equity Trustees Limited (EQT) has appointed Eliza Weaving to its business development team, to the newly-created position of key account manager – VIC/WA/TAS. Read More

Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd (Nikko AM) today announced that Timothy F. McCarthy, Chairman and CEO of Nikko Asset Management, has decided to retire at the end of this fiscal year. Read More

Zenith Investment Partners has given a ‘recommended’* rating to the Australian Unity Altius Bond Fund, citing a strong investment team and a comprehensive risk management strategy as positives of the fund. Read More

The transfer of Big Sky Credit Union Limited to Australian Unity Limited’s existing subsidiary – Lifeplan Australia Building Society Limited – has received regulatory approval and the combined business, renamed Big Sky Building Society Limited, is effective today (1 March). Read More

Changes to transfer pricing rules, which will be applied retrospectively, are intended to bring Australian practices in line with international rules but could mean significant changes for the Australian operations of international groups, warns Mr Neil Wickenden, tax partner at HLB Mann Judd Sydney. Read More