{"id":45784,"date":"2013-12-25T19:18:40","date_gmt":"2013-12-26T00:18:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/countingpips.com\/forex-news\/?p=45784"},"modified":"2013-12-25T19:18:40","modified_gmt":"2013-12-26T00:18:40","slug":"retirement-you-do-have-an-alternative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/2013\/12\/25\/retirement-you-do-have-an-alternative\/","title":{"rendered":"Retirement: You Do Have an Alternative"},"content":{"rendered":"

By MoneyMorning.com.au<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

Preparing for your retirement<\/strong> wasn’t supposed to be difficult. The government had it all sorted for you. <\/p>\n

The ATO made sure you saved and invested a certain proportion of your income into Super each year. The Treasurer managed the economy to make sure the stock market always goes up. The Reserve Bank of Australia<\/a> made sure the cost of living didn’t get out of hand. The FRB and ACCC protected your investments from too much and too little competition. APRA and ASIC made sure you don’t get defrauded. And there’s always the pension.<\/p>\n

Unless you’re deeply sceptical of anything the government does, the chances of all those institutions getting it wrong may seem very low. But they have got it wrong. Terribly wrong.<\/p>\n

Because Australians overinvested in shares via their Superannuation accounts, a HSBC report reached the conclusion that our retirement savings system <\/strong>was the world’s worst performer during the financial crisis. And our stock market still hasn’t recovered.\n<\/p>\n

True, we haven’t had a recession in more than twenty years. But that also means we have a lot of very fragile and untested parts of the economy. It’s just like the difference between brush fires and bush fires – if you don’t clear the tinder with occasional burn offs, look out! Once we do have a recession, it will be worse. And most Australians won’t be prepared.<\/p>\n

But the biggest risk Aussie retirees have discovered is the complete lack of accountability and oversight in the financial sector. In The Money for Life Letter<\/em><\/a> I’ve exposed how up to 20% of Australian mortgages could be induced by fraud, leaving homeowners homeless and in debt. <\/p>\n

The country’s mortgage debenture industry is going insolvent one mismanaged company after the other, destroying life savings in rural communities. The alleged misbehaviour of several Commonwealth Bank financial advisors was recently exposed. And Australia’s regulators are a laughing stock to those in the industry.<\/p>\n

With friends like these handling your money, who needs enemies?<\/p>\n

Back in 2008 I completed an internship at a prestigious investment bank which gave me a scholarship to university. I saw what the financial world is like from the inside while the façade of respectability was ripped off by a financial crisis. And I didn’t like it. But I decided I would learn the trade from the best and then set my own course in the investment world.<\/p>\n

That’s when I got a text message from Port Phillip publisher Dan Denning. I’d met him once before. ‘Want to move to Melbourne<\/em>?’ was all it said. <\/p>\n

Today, four years later, I write The Money for Life Letter<\/em>. It allows me to do what I wanted back when I was at the investment bank: Tell ordinary people that there is an alternative to the retirement system<\/strong> that has failed them. <\/p>\n

That alternative starts with a change of mindset. Don’t just fiddle with which shares you own, how you structure your Super, or which financial advisor you see. Those changes won’t rescue your retirement<\/a>. They’re like changing which political party you vote for. Has voting ever solved any of your personal problems? It’s a distraction. Instead, you need to make much deeper changes yourself.<\/p>\n

Opt out of the idea that the stock market and property market always go up. Opt out of the idea that your financial advisor and broker have your interests at heart. Opt out of the ‘she’ll be right’ retirement mentality.<\/p>\n

You need something different. And in The Money for Life Letter<\/em>, you can find it. This year I showed my readers…<\/p>\n