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Advisers prioritised own interests in SMSF setups: ASIC
The prospect of gaining greater investment control over their retirement savings, wider investment choices and potential cost savings for larger balances, has encouraged Australians to establish self-managed super funds (SMSF) in their droves. But while around 600,000 SMSFs now exist across the country a new study suggests that most could be doing investors more harm than good. According to an ASIC review, almost two-thirds of SMSFs established under the recommendations of a financial adviser are not only unsuitable to their needs but also put their retirement savings at risk. Based on 100 financial advice files investigated, ASIC research concludes that 62 failed to demonstrate compliance with the best interests duty, while a quarter of these flagged major concerns about client detriment relating to recommendations to set up an SMSF in the first place.Advisers acted as order takersOn the flipside, only 38% of client files managed to demonstrate compliance with the mandate advisers have to act in clients' best interests. In the instances where clients were given a bum steer, ASIC concluded that advisers had not based all judgements entirely on the circumstances relevant to each individual. This included "inappropriate
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ABS: Household spending ticks up 0.2% in September
Monthly household spending has increased on both a month-by-month and year-by-year basis in September, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). On a month-to-month basis, spending in September increased by 0.2% from December and increased by 5.1% from the same time last year. Spending also grew 0.2% for the quarter ending September. The category with the largest increase was recreation and culture, growing 1.1% from last month, following two consecutive months of decreased spending in August and July. Other categories that experienced an increase were health (0.7%), food (0.6%), and furnishings and household equipment (0.4%). The largest decrease was in alcoholic beverages and tobacco, which fell by 0.8% in September, marking a third consecutive month of decreased spending. On a quarterly basis, the categories with the largest growth were health (1.8%), miscellaneous goods and services (1.2%), and food (1.1%) The category with the sharpest decline in the quarter was alcohol, beverages, and tobacco, down 6.8%. Monthly spending increased in four of the eight states and territories. The state with the largest spending growth was New South Wales, where household spending rose by
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ABS: Household spending rises for fourth month
Australian household spending rose modestly in August, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reporting a 0.1% increase on Thursday. The gain was smaller than the 0.4% and 0.5% rises recorded in June and July, but extended a run of four consecutive monthly increases. For the year, data showed spending was 5% higher than in August 2024. Lauren Binns, ABS head of business statistics, said: “The small rise in August was the fourth increase in a row, and spending has risen in 10 of the last 12 months. Through the year growth remained elevated. Household spending was 5.0 per cent higher than the same time last year. "Households spent more on booking airline travel and accommodation services during August. This contributed to a 0.5 per cent rise for Services spending. In contrast, Goods spending fell 0.2 per cent.” The release comes two days after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left the cash rate unchanged, as policymakers weighed the risks of inflationary pressures returning. The concern was underscored by August’s consumer price inflation (CPI) data, which revealed headline inflation climbed to an annualised 3% – its highest level in over a year. At the same time, the RBA highlighted that household bu
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Costly but financial advice returns in spades: FAAA
Despite Australians’ forking out on average between $4,600 to $5,000 in annual financial advice fees, a new study suggests that for the vast majority this outlay returns in spades through improved financial wellbeing. Recently released research by the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) found convincingly that Australians with a financial adviser are more likely to express confidence in their perceived quality of life. According to the FAAA's 2025 Value of Advice Index, only 7% of advised Australians claim not to have been better off due to their adviser. Meanwhile, the 93% who said they were materially better off due to their adviser, attributed improved financial wellbeing to better peace of mind and time saved on financial decisions. "Good financial advice isn't just about the numbers. It's about giving people confidence, support, and a sense of control, even when times are tough," FAAA CEO Sarah Abood said. According to Value of Advice research, the top three ways Australians say that financial advisers help are: • nearly two in three flagged a reduction in financial stress and worry • nearly two in three were able to build a realistic plan for a comfortable retirement, and • nearly th
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ABS: Australian household spending climbs 0.5% in July
Household spending in Australia rose by 0.5% in July, according to seasonally adjusted figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday. The increase follows gains of 0.3% in June and 1.0% in May, marking the third straight month of growth. Robert Ewing, ABS head of business statistics, said: “Household spending rose for the third month in a row in July, and has now gone up nine times in the last 10 months. “Household spending is 5.1% higher than the same time last year. This is the highest annual growth since November 2023. “Households spent more on health services, hotel accommodation, air travel, and dining out during July. This contributed to a 1.6% rise for Services spending. “In contrast, Goods spending fell 0.3% after mid-year sales boosted spending by 0.9% in June.” Spending increased in five of the nine ABS categories. Health recorded the sharpest rise at 1.8%, followed by Transport and Miscellaneous goods and services, both up 1.5%. The largest declines were seen in Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, which dropped 1.9%, and Furnishings and household equipment, down 1.4%. On a yearly basis, Miscellaneous goods and services surged 8.8%, while Recreation and culture climbed 8.2

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CBA delivers $10.25bn profit amid valuation concerns
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) delivered a cash profit of $10.25 billion and a $4.85 annual dividend for FY25, but analysts remain overwhelmingly bearish with the stock trading at over 30 times earnings compared to Big Four peers at 14-17 times. The 4% profit increase exceeded analyst expectations, supported by robust operational metrics across Australia's largest lender. The bank declared a final dividend of $2.60 per share, bringing total 2025 financial year (FY25) payouts to $4.85 - up 4% year-on-year. Net interest margins held steady at 2.08%, despite competitive deposit pricing pressures. Pre-provision profit rose 3% to $15.47 billion, while return on equity maintained market-leading levels at 13.5%. Credit quality strengthened significantly, with loan impairment expenses declining 9% to $726 million. Home loan arrears stabilised, with 85% of mortgage customers remaining ahead of scheduled repayments. “Despite global uncertainty, the Australian economy has remained resilient, with strong fundamentals including a healthy labour market, steady immigration and ongoing public sector investment,” CBA Chief Executive Matt Comyn said. “Even though sentiment remains subdued, we expect economic growth to
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Planners tread carefully amid rising financial stress
According to The National Mental Health Commission’s most recent “report card”, the cohort of Australians who find dealing with money stressful and overwhelming is on the rise. It found the proportion of people finding it “difficult” or “very difficult” to cope on their current income doubled from 17.1% in November 2020 to 34.6% in January 2024, while women consistently reported more financial stress than men. The study also found that the steady rise in financial stress is mirrored in the proportion of people in Australia delaying mental health care due to cost in the last four years. It’s younger generations, the report concludes, who continue to report heightened psychological distress and financial stress, and have a much higher prevalence of mental health challenges relative to the rest of the population. While much of this can be attributed the pressures of modern living, those facing mental health, drug, alcohol and/or gambling addictions can unwittingly be responsible for their own financial downfall. In light of this data, Azzet has provided some guidelines for seeking help from planners about your financial distress without forcing them to cross the Rubicon into the no-go areas of mentor or mental health
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Australians spend more on goods, less on services
Australian may have stayed home more as household spending defied a drop in services spending to rise 0.5% in June. The seasonally-adjusted month-on-month lift was led by furnishings and household equipment (2.0%), clothing and footwear (1.6%) and food (1.5%), and followed a 1.0% increase in May and a flat result in April, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). “People buying more goods drove the overall rise in household spending in June,” ABS Head of Business Statistics Robert Ewing said in a media release. Goods spending was 1.3% higher as households outlayed more on food, new vehicles, and electronics while spending on services fell 0.5% after two months of growth. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco (-2.4%), hotels, cafes and restaurants (-0.8%) and health (-0.3%) were the only categories that fell, suggesting consumers remained indoors more than in May. But Australians demonstrated their liking for going out with services spending rising 6.6% over 12 months as recreation and culture (7.9%), food (7.5%) and health (7.2%) showed the largest jumps in a period that household spending rose 4.8%. The services spending increase outstripped the 3.4% rise in goods spending. The result exceeded econom
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Opportunities in overvalued market, says Morningstar
The Australian sharemarket offers plenty of attractive investment opportunities despite being overvalued, according to investment research firm Morningstar. Senior Equity Analyst Adrian Atkins said the market was about 6% overvalued following the sharp rally since April. However, it had been significantly more overvalued for much of the past decade. “So current valuations are not a huge concern for us and most importantly, we do continue to see plenty of attractive opportunities across most sectors,” he said on Moringstar's Australian Equity Market Outlook webinar. Atkins said one-third of stocks under coverage by Morningstar in Australia had four or five star ratings and a third of those had moats, or sustainable competitive advantages. Many of the quality stocks trading at attractive prices were in the healthcare and consumer sectors, energy remained the most underrated sector, basic materials and consumer sectors offered good value but little value was seen in financials or utilities. The firm’s top picks include:Telecommunications: Spark New Zealand (ASX: SPK)Media: Nine Entertainment (ASX: NEC)Consumer: Endeavour Group (ASX: EDV), andEnergy: Woodside Energy (ASX: WDS)Equity Market Strategist Lochlan Halloway sa