Just aim for the best
December is traditionally a very busy month but after all the events that have unfolded this year I say “bring on the silly season”. We saw our prime minister change – again. We were shocked by some of the revelations to come out of the royal commission into misconduct in the banking, super and financial services industry. The interim report confirmed that a culture of greed, compounded by inaction from regulators, was to blame.
We felt the pain (either directly or indirectly via our super funds) when the sharemarket shed $50 billion in one day. The S&P/ASX 200 Index has been pedalling hard but is nowhere near its August high of 6352. We continued to be held down by sluggish wages, an unprecedented amount of personal debt and a softening property market, most notably in Melbourne and Sydney. Let’s not even get started on energy bills, petrol prices (the average price of petrol in 2000 across the main cities was 91¢ a litre) and the fact that in this post-royal commission era of borrowing I may not get an investment loan thanks to my addiction to Netflix and the odd Uber ride. (OK, there was I time when I did abuse this but not now). There’s more about this on page 36.
There is some good news, though. Our guest economist, Stephen Miller, believes things have been worse: “It’s not as bad as the ’70s or the first couple of years of the ’80s,” he says on page 48. “Those times were a real doozy: double-digit unemployment, double-digit inflation and double-digit interest rates.” He seems
to have forgotten one other “double” issue in the ’70s – double denim! The good news continues because while most of our experts do agree that investors should be prepared for potentially lower returns and higher volatility in 2019, there are always opportunities to create or refine your wealth plans.
Each year we invite some of Australia’s best experts to reflect and forecast. Peter Koulizos gives his insight into the property market along with his regional picks. Alex Joiner, chief economist at IFM Investors, discusses the standout sectors for 2019 and Kenny McGilvary reveals what we can expect to see in terms of mobile plans and broadband. Throw in the awards and you can see why this issue continues to be in demand and a personal favourite of mine.
What I like about Best of the Best, which has been running for 18 years, is the transparency. The methodology is explained right next to the tables. You may agree or disagree and that’s fine. The whole purpose of this issue is to give you a nudge over the summer holidays to take some time to discover how your products compare with the best.
A big thank you goes to our partners, Canstar, Morningstar, Lonsec, Zenith, SQM Research, SuperRatings and WhistleOut, for their support on this issue, along with Money’s deputy editor, Maria Bekiaris.
Here’s to a safe and happy summer. And remember money never sleeps, so be sure to sign up to our free weekly newsletter at moneymag.com.au so you can stay up to date until we return in February with our top 50 share buys and property hotspots.