Which super funds allow you to invest in ETFs & LICs?

Which super funds allow you to invest in ETFs & LICs?

please note i do not have a formal super or SMSF , i went for a straight investment portfolio ( for better or worse ) as i wanted full control on the decisions

( as i was aiming for a retirement income fund , not something to build up then liquidate )

 

The Barefoot investor recommends using your super to buy shares through your fund and then he suggests joining his Barefoot Blueprint to get your stock picks, seams like a conflict of interest to me so I decided to pass on this option. I am salary sacrificing into my super but I will let Australian Super handle it as they see fit, whilst I focus my attentions on my early retirement goals and leave my super on automatic.

 

many are not willing to get their hands dirty ( make investing decisions themselves .. sometimes human nature overcomes sensible judgment and now we have a royal commission ... )

i have not looked at the Barefoot Investor product , but i make all my own choices .. that saves a lot of emails BUT i still make good and bad decisions ( at least i know i am biased and why )

i liquidated my super ( then with AMP ) and bought AMP shares when they were cheap in 2012 ( under $4 ) and participated in the DRP scheme .

i won't call it a stellar result but it still beat the heck out of the super fund

.. but don't fret i also bought some BTT @ $2.30 and they did MUCH better

 

I get wanting to have control yourself and honestly my thoughts on this may change as i become more seasoned with shares, honestly i am worried if i mess us my early retirement plans by making the wrong choices, at least my Super will be enough to live on as i didn't actively direct it

His book was a lot of common sense stuff ( well at least for me it was but i was never BAD with money, just didn't save enough of it for the longterm), there were a few things i added to my Plans ( i added some insurance options and started looking into shares) but there was a few things where i was like, thats not going to work for me so i ignored that section. This is why i started reading & listening again to get other peoples strategies and work out what i am comfortable with and what i am not.

 

first be realistic about your stock selection skills , for example despite some lucky outcomes oil and gas aren't my best expertise ( luck and skill are completely different factors )

so what i have done is selected LICs where the managers operate in a different area than i am good at ( something like CDM and WAX that are opportunistic and play short and medium term including selective short-selling ) i don't expect these managers to shine every year and every part of the cycle just pick up some good wins in the difficult times when everyone is struggling ..

sure i have the solid companies like WBC , SOL , BHP ( which is cyclic but not irrational ) but you can't expect these companies to have 500% growth ( over 5 years ) that memo obviously missed BKL though ( not that i am annoyed over that )

yes i am a big fan of reading/listening AND thinking , but my plan was for 10 years ( and then retire ) but turned out i was retired after 6 years so the rush initially was the correct choice in hindsight for a different reason ).

before investing ( for me ) started i was a workaholic and didn't plan long term ... in fact one colleague even joked about if i collapsed at work ( like two other colleagues had that year ) and i said .. send flowers ... Lantana , .. cheap irritating and fire-resistant ..( the co-workers were dropping from heat-exhaustion but i told management that would happen the first day i arrived at the new building ) .. sigh , many a true word said in fun .)

investing is very much an art based on mathematics ... like music , what pleases you may not please others ( i invest like a jazz player .. fake the changes .... that is morph not sell out completely of a strategy that was previously working )

a top ( Jazz ) musician once said ' there is no such thing as a wrong note , but perhaps there was a better time to play it .

yesterday's hero ( BHP in the GFC ) may be hero again in a few years time , but underated currently .

the overall stock market is on the high side , learning and watching now will be your best future growth strategy future ( i still expect the banks to restrict withdrawals in the economy takes a NASTY dip , so you might not lose that cash but t might be available when those stock prices are undeniable bargains )

please remember ALL INVESTING INVOLVES RISK ( including doing nothing , inflation gets you if it is parked in the bank )

slowly , carefully for you , but i knew i had to act fast and play hard ( ideally triple my nest egg in 10 years ) which is NOT as bad as it seems urgency does help you focus on the important things .,


will your super be enough to live on when you need it .... that is the million dollar question ( even if you are super rich , ask Chris Skase and Alan Bond ).

if retirement incomes look stretched how many cuts can you make to your budget ??

what will be your bills in 10 years time ( considering governments can't budget for a year )

i would suggest aim high ( in your goals ) but be prepared for lower outcomes , both major parties want to tamper with your SMSF and yet they can't run the official pension scheme ( that you are trying to avoid )

BTW that super they are trying to raid was a compulsory saving scheme set up to give you the delayed wage-rises you deserved ( but weren't allowed to spend quickly )

for an educated nation our leaders are as dumb as dirt , and not trust-worthy at all , why did we elect them ??? ( photo appeal ?? )

 

sadly my heart rhythm is non-classical .. gets the medical technicians rather excited ( or is that worried ) .... the up-side is Centrelink took less than a week to give me a pension several years early , the down-side is i can't have fun like i used to .







god forbid that the doctors ever think investing is exciting ( stressful ) or that will be banned as well .( as is coffee , alcohol , any injuries , long walks alone ... etc etc )

but luckily i wasn't sitting patiently with the cash in the bank for that BIG downturn , i had already started building the base for the retirement ( income ) fund .( and lucky for me the 2011 correction came along when i was a brazen novice .... HHMmmm i need a bank BUT i need growth how about i go hard at MQG ... buying as it slid to $20 ... i have since reduced that holding but NOT exited ... and it is still my second largest holding .

had i been 30 and years before retiring i would have gone heavier into WBC ( as low as $19.90 ) and i did buy some WBC but nothing like the MQG buying . and WBC is still not a top 20 holding ).

so time frames and choices can be very different for different people ( my second largest bank holding is BOQ currently barely in my top 20 .. bought in 2012 ) i need growth AND returns remember ... time is something i don't have in abundance ... but then my investments don't need to survive 40 years either