5 thoughts on “HEAR, HEAR, ALAN KOHLER!”

1. Hi Bryan. I was lucky during and since the GFC – most of my super was in the best performing option in one of the lowest-fee industry super funds – on a three, five, seven or ten year timeframe, my investment returns have been positive. Obviously many people were not so lucky.

   I have rather a pessimistic view of the ability of either private super accounts or government provided age pensions to support retirees in the future. The demographic problems faced by developed nations such as ours are well established. Alan Greenspan’s ‘great moderation’ since 1980 now appears to have been a monstrous bubble inflated by endless credit and irresponsible monetary policy. The high economic growth of those decades will not recur.

2. No, it didn’t.

   But far better that these things are recognised and accounted for rather than papered over at others cost in a defined benefit scheme. DBS don’t get reduced, they go bust.

   Market super is the equivalent of LVT.

3. I’m afraid I go much further than Alan Kohler did on the subject of super, Liz.
   https://thedepression.org.au/?p=11819
   Did not your super go substantially backwards when the GFC-affected sharemarket hit the wall?

4. Yes, but…..if you go to the website he is promoting (saveoursuper dot com dot au), he is basically spruiking for people to buy a subscription to the Eureka Report and/or set up an SMSF.

   As someone who has worked in the Australian super system for many years, I too have doubts about whether we are on the right track. But I don’t think that Alan Kohler is going to provide unbiased insight into the changes that should be made, given his commercial interests.

5. I’d far prefer the managable risk of being in the market than the impossible risks faced by defined benefit holders going forward.

   Of course the greatest risk remains that the government will make a grab for people’s super.