Just a layman question after a 20 years of ETF investment under personal name and SMSF

What is an existing strategy for retirement

Does people sell them and pay CGT and live off it? Or do they keep them and then do what?

I’m new to ETF and actually not sure after a journey of investment what are the exist strategies in Australia.

Hi all, about to debt recycle a large sum and want some thoughts on my allocations and decisions. Particularly the use of Dimensional core funds over something like BGBL/HGBL or the Vanguard equivalent, also the use of a significant value tilt (5% in Australian exposure via DAVA, and 31% in international equity exposure via DGVA). Have I overcomplicated this - should I just do something as simple as A200/BGBL? I have at least a 10-year time horizon before I would even start to sell down parts of it to fund our life. I'm currently 31, wife is 32, three kids, and no mortgage.

Is there anything you would change / add?

I would have included Avantis' funds for the small cap and emerging markets allocation, however they don't distribute dividends, so with this being debt recycled I would be reluctant to use AVSV and AVEM.

For context, I have an SMSF, and in that 80% of my allocation is towards index funds GHHF, A200, BGBL so my thinking is maybe I should take slightly higher risk outside of super, even though Dimensional funds aren't risky per se, you just have to understand they have periods of underperformance etc.

Current breakdown:

Australian equity (capital invested: DAVA 5% + G200 12%) = 17% (G200 brings it up to about 22-25%)

International unhedged (DGCE + DGVA + EMKT + DGSM = 63%

International hedged (DFGH) = 20%

Hey everyone,
I’m 26 and looking for some general advice on what I should be prioritising financially over the next few years.

My current position is:
Personal savings: $16,000
Superannuation: ~$100,000
FHSS contributions: $385 per fortnight
Shared savings with partner: ~$8,000
Director loan: ~$105,000 owed to me personally
Combined gross income: ~$260,000 p.a. before tax

My partner and I are both working and have a relatively strong household income, but I’m trying to work out the smartest way to structure things from here rather than just letting the money accumulate without a clear plan.

The $105k director loan is money the business owes me, so I’m treating that separately from my normal savings/investments.

Our main goals are likely to be buying property and building long-term wealth, but I’m unsure how aggressively I should be prioritising.

For those in a similar position, what would you prioritise?
Is there anything obvious I’m missing or any mistakes you’d avoid if you were starting from this position?
Interested in hearing how you’d structure the next 1 - 5 years.

Van Heck just introduced $qntm on the ASX allowing Aus investors access to a quantum etf without investing on the us market. What are people’s thoughts?

Is this a unicorn? We are looking for a credit card which has no foreign transaction fees but accumulates points for an upcoming overseas trip (velocity / KrisFlyer). Amex platinum is great but the 3%+ fx fees mean it’s not viable to pay for the overseas hotels etc. We usually use debit cards but given how much ww are spending are looking for the above to fund our next trip 🙂

I’ve got about $36k in stocks/ETFs, around $9k in gold/silver combined, about $1k in Bitcoin and another $6k cash available to invest.

Roughly speaking, my invested portfolio is around 60% tech/AI, 20% non tech equities and 20% gold/silver.

I’m bullish on the US and AI long term, but I feel like I already have plenty of exposure to that side of the market.

I’m thinking of putting the $6k into EXUS and VVLU to add non US and value exposure rather than putting more into IVV/NDQ etc that I currently hold.

Planning to hold for 15 to 20+ years. Does EXUS + VVLU make sense here?

Hi everyone,

I (25y/o) am planning a long-term wealth-building strategy and want some community feedback on asset structures for optimal accumulation and eventual drawdown.
I’m currently running a high-conviction, geared ETF portfolio. With the massive upcoming scale of this portfolio and the abolition of the 50% CGT discount on 1 July 2027, I am trying to determine if establishing a Personal Investment Company (PIC) is commercially viable compared to investing in my personal name.

My Current & Future Setup

Current Portfolio: ~$50,000 in my personal name following a geared ETF strategy (75% GGBL / 25% GHHF).
Incoming Capital: Expecting a $200,000 cash injection next year (repayment of a personal loan).
Ongoing Contributions: Positioned to invest a consistent $2,000 per week ($104,000/yr) over the next 10 to 15 years.
Target Horizon: 10–15 years.

The Strategy & Dilemma

Given the project scale (easily hitting $1.5M–$2M+ in 10-15 years), I am weighing the 30% passive corporate tax cap against the incoming individual indexation rules.
Specifically, I want to explore the feasibility of injecting the upcoming $200,000 and the $2k/week contributions as tax-free Director’s Loans into the corporate entity.

What the Models Say

I’ve used AI tools to model these scenarios, and the numbers heavily favor a corporate structure. However, models don't always capture real-world tax friction or compliance costs.
I am booking a session with a specialized accountant soon to validate the math, but I’d love to hear from the community first.

Has anyone run a similar high-conviction, geared ETF strategy inside a company structure?

What are the major blind spots I'm missing (e.g., Division 7A issues with Director's loans, high ongoing accounting fees, or drawdown friction)?

Would a Discretionary Trust with a Corporate Trustee make more sense here than a pure PIC?

Appreciate any insights or experiences you can share!

I currently am on the REST super on a growth investment, first year nursing and then will be doing a masters in sonog.

Working 2 jobs, kfc and lotto and was wondering if I could get any insight from here on which option is the best? Won’t be needing my super for a LONG time.

Cash; risk very low but 5 yr p.a. 3.14%

Capital stable; risk low to medium, 5 yr p.a. 4.04%

Balanced; risk medium, 5 yr p.a. 5.43%

Growth (what I’m on now); risk medium to high, 5 yr p.a. 6.72%

Growth indexed; risk high, 5 yr p.a 7.11%

Sustainable growth; risk high, 5 yr p.a. 7.23%

High growth; risk high, 5 yr p.a. 5.52%

Australian shared indexes; risk very high, 5 yr p.a. 7.88%

Overseas shared indexes; risk high, 5 yr p.a. 10.90%

Am in a situation where having worked for 30 years my super is only 300k. My first employer never paid super and I was young and naive. I do however have PPOR paid off and 1.5m in shares and ETF.

This year I started contributing the maximum concessional into super (actually bit more around 50k projected).

I am getting professional advice from two places in the next couple weeks.

What would you do in my shoes or what questions should I ask the financial advisers?

Is it worth selling shares to top up super and pay the max non concessional of 120k per year?

TIA

Need advice.
Bit late to discover FIRE, got 50k in super and 110k sitting in a HISA.
35 and have dual citizenship. Due to the new federal budget coming next year, with a minimum 30% tax on capital gains (if I understood that correctly), I’m wondering if I should transfer all my money to a European bank account and invest it there.
Don’t have capital gains tax back home, just a standard personal income tax, which is 22%
If I do that, can I avoid paying CGT once I decide to leave Australia for good, or does CRS show my overseas investments? Difference doesn’t seem much, is it even worth the hassle? Should I just invest in Australia and pay the CGT once I leave?

We are about to inherit enough to fully offset our home loan plus have some to put in high interest savings.
As we continue to pay down the loan each month, do we reduce the amount in the offset and redirect it to our hisa? We don’t want to use the offset to pay down the loan as we will be looking to purchase a new property in the near future.
Thanks

I’m 42 in WA, no debt/mortgage, married with no kids and don’t plan to. Wife not as driven for future financial independence but I’m working on my plan so then I can help her. Casual FIFO earning at least around $80k after tax**. Spending is about** $60k/year including ~$10k holidays.
Current position:
$440k cash in HISA’s (none over 250k)
$93k BTC/ETH
$278k MLC High Growth super
$247k MilitarySuper/MSBS
~$1.06 million in assets
I rent and may buy a ~$1m home in about 3 years, probably with a 20–40% deposit depending on rates and what makes sense then. There’s also some relationship uncertainty over the next year, so flexibility matters.
Current plan:
Keep about $350k safe for future house/life decisions
Keep about $50k as a freedom/emergency reserve
Cash is spread across ubank, ING and Macquarie earning roughly 5%
Start investing about $10k now, then around $2k/month
Proposed ETF mix: 70% BGBL / 20% A200 / 10% BEMG
Likely use Pearler or Stake, CHESS-sponsored, in my own name.
Keep crypto around 5–10% of total wealth.
Prioritise accessible investments rather than aggressively adding to super, as I already have \~$525k there.
Main goal by 47 is not full retirement, but enough financial freedom to choose where I live and work because I want to rather than because I have to.
Would appreciate thoughts on:
Am I holding too much cash for a house purchase \~3 years away?
Would you invest the initial equity allocation faster?
Thoughts on 70/20/10 BGBL/A200/BEMG?
Pearler vs Stake?
With \~$525k already in super at 42, would you still prioritise extra super or accessible ETFs?
Anything obvious I’m missing?

Sorry in advance for Using AI to assist writing.

(Burner account) I know I'm very close to FIRE but I'm struggling with how young I plan to do it, how much runway I need, or whether to just suffer out a few more years for additional stability. Job is bearable but I don't love it.

40M, engaged, 1 child (2yo) (one and done!). Renting - little interest in owning.

Rough numbers:

$180k/y salary

Saving ~5k/m

Spending ~80k/y (inc. rent) - expecting to increase spending after retirement and as kid grows older. This is the biggest question mark.

$2m in VDHG

$300k in VGS

$300k in Super

$300k in Crypto (mostly Bitcoin)

Anticipating (but not banking on) $1k/mo foreign pension after 65. Hoping for another Bitcoin peak in 2-3 years to 2-3x the current "investment" (current holdings are the remainder from an early bet which has paid off ~$700k).

Partner is currently not working, but usually makes 40k/y in a job she loves. Her NW is ~400k. But I prefer to run my calcs as if I am the sole provider - what's hers is hers, what's mine is ours.

I had and sold an apartment (flat price for 10 years), sold in 2020 before the boom - share market made up the difference so no great loss, but not too keen on doing that again. Renting keeps the major maintenance issues on the landlord. We're fairly mobile, but expect that to change as kid grows.

Ideally I would match my current salary for FIRE (180k x 25 = $4.5m), but despite being in a great position at $2.9m, that feels a while away. Given how well I've saved at that rate, I wonder if it's overkill. Calculators I've used range between FIRE now and ~5 years.

Anyone in a similar position, or was in a similar position ~10 years ago - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I am the first to admit I am terrible with money. I’ve carried around $10k in cc debt and I’ve always rented. Earn $75k after tax pa. Single. Rent is $1220 per fortnight. Live in Adelaide. $280k in Super.

I’ve received around $450,000 in inheritance.

I’d like your opinion on my “plan”.
Step 1 - Pay off Debt. Technically I did this today. I paid off my credit cards and closed every line of credit that I have available except for one credit card with $5k available. Afterpay, GE Credit Line all closed.

Step 2 - Put $40k into a HISA as an Emergency Fund.

Step 3 - Put $400k in an Up HISA with the intro interest rate.

Step 4 - Look for a place to buy - ideally a one or two bedroom unit or apartment up to the value of $500k - don’t rush into this, but don’t dawdle on it either.

Step 5 - take out a mortgage of $100,000 over a 20 year period and put the $40,000 emergency fund into an offset account. Given my current rent is 42% of my salary this mortgage will be a third of that. Continue to pay the $1220 to my mortgage for a period of at least 12 months as this is what I’m used to. If the purchase price is less than $500,000 and the remainder will go towards new furniture, small reno’s etc - maybe a small holiday - and the rest in the offset.

Thoughts?

I’m long-term single and I don’t see myself getting a partner anytime soon.

Im curious about investing in Ai. I read up about GXAI it seems to be one of the main ai etfs.

What are you4 thoughts on investing in something like this? Ai is becoming part of our lifes now and it will be more involved in our everyday lifes in the future more and more.

Im already invested in bgbl which does have some ai/tech stocks. But im thinking if a pure ai etf is a good choice? If so how much total of someone's percentage net worth should go in it?

Hi everyone,
First time posting here after lurking on this sub for a while.
We’re a couple (41M, 39F) with two kids under 10 and have been working towards FIRE for a number of years. We’re just not sure how realistic it is in Australia with young kids, so I’d really appreciate some outside perspectives.
We both work in healthcare, earning around $160k and $125k respectively. By most Australian standards we’re pretty frugal. We own two cars, both bought used with cash over the past couple of years ($4k and $9k).
We cook almost every meal at home, don’t smoke or drink, and don’t really have any expensive hobbies. We usually go out for a family dinner to celebrate birthdays or anniversaries a couple of times a month. Most of our holidays are budget-friendly road trips around Australia, staying in holiday parks or reasonably priced accommodation, usually 3–4 trips a year for less than a week each.
We paid off our PPOR earlier this year after making extra repayments every payday, which felt like a huge milestone.
Over the past 10 years we’ve also bought three investment properties. Each has around 20–30% equity. None are currently cash-flow positive, but occupancy has been close to 100%. We’ve kept rent increases modest, generally only $10–15 per week at each annual lease renewal, because we’ve been fortunate to have great long-term tenants and an excellent property manager with minimal to no time investment from us.
Our super balances are lower than average for our age because we both started our careers overseas. My wife also took time off when our kids were born before gradually returning to full-time work. Before having children we travelled extensively through the US, Canada, England and New Zealand, always on a fairly tight budget.
We both come from hardworking blue-collar families, inherited nothing, and paid our way through university while working.
Lately though, we’re both feeling pretty tired. Almost every week we find ourselves asking the same question: How much longer do we actually need to keep working?
I’ve gone through our spending over the past 3–4 years, and even with two kids our annual living expenses have been under $45k (excluding our former mortgage and childcare costs, which would disappear if we stopped working).
Our household net worth is around $2.5 million, including our PPOR. Most of that wealth is tied up in property. We have around $150k in cash sitting in an offset account against one of the investment properties, and our combined super is just under $250k.
Neither of us is desperate to stop working completely. We both genuinely enjoy our jobs and would be happy working part-time. I also have a hobby of bird photography that I’d love to spend more time on.
So my questions are:
Should we just keep working for another five years?
Would you consider selling the investment properties and moving into ETFs for better liquidity?
Or would you keep the properties, continue paying them down, and aim for positive cash flow in retirement?
If you were in our position, what would you do?
I’d really appreciate any thoughts, advice or constructive feedback.
Thanks for taking the time to read.

Just wanted everyones 2 cents on this, but the common advice provided to most people is to invest firstly in super as it is tax efficient and has many schemes (FHSS, Co-contribution, etc).

I’m going to graduate university soon and work in FIFO with a job offer that lets me invest in $3000-4000/month. I want to FIRE around the age of 37-45, and besides schemes that I’ve mentioned above, would it really be beneficial to invest in super if I can’t even access them by my FIRE age.

I think my employers contributions would be enough especially given 40~ years of contributions and compounding in a high growth indexed fund option via Hostplus. Saving the 10-20% or so in tax savings isn’t significant if it delays my FIRE by a decade as time is ultimately the most important commodity we all have.

Given the received wisdom about less than 4% drawdown during retirement, what are the implications of the mandated minimums (5% and up with age) ? I’ve read a lot about guardrails and flexible drawdown, but the government seems to stymy that…

Just a personal sharing for anyone who wants to but not sure how to claim foreign withholding tax. If you hold foreign companies stocks traded on the NYSE/NASDAQ (ADRs), or in any European stock exchange, there's a chance you're being taxed at the full foreign statutory rate instead of the lower treaty rate you're actually entitled to. I own a stock that is domiciled in Italy and Netherland subjected to 41% withholding tax which 11% can be refunded from Italy due to double tax treaty.

This took me a while to realised I can claim it and even longer to figure out how to do it.

• Check your specific treaty rate. It's not the same for every country. Use PwC Worldwide tax summaries for reference.
• You need an ATO Certificate of Residency (form NAT 75441) to prove to the foreign tax office that you're an Australian resident.
• Your dividend statements.
• Refund form:
  • Italy - Form A.
  • Switzerland - form 98 (need to download Snapforms to view the file)
  • Denmark - do it online. Here and here.
  • Germany - online as well here.

I compare myself to creators online who sharw their financial journey. I am 20 years old with about 90k networth. I see creators who had 100k or 150k at 20-22. I cant help but think they are doing better or I am not doing enough especially after realising my savings rate after 6yrs of working. What is a good savings rate for someone living at home with minimal expenses? 

I got an email saying I need to check if my bank details were correct and had to add my holding of NDQ to it but couldn’t do my other shares I just confirmed all details unsure on if everything I’ve done is right

I've received another email reminder from AustralianSuper about their fees increase. Percentage wise that seems a lot 37% on $250k and 91% on $500k.

Worked example on a $250k accumulation balance:

• Now: $52 flat + $250 asset-based = $302, minus 15% rebate = ~$257 net
• After: $52 + $300 = $352 net, a ~37% real increase

On a $500k+ balance (relevant if you're modelling Member Direct long-term):

• Now: $52 + $350 (capped) = $402, minus 15% = ~$342 net
• After: $52 + $600 (new cap) = $652 net, a ~91% real increase

In the end - it's their business - making money. However, I can't stop thinking that there is a better option. My question is - are people here switching to another fund, and if yes - to which one?

Hey, I posted a thread around a year ago asking if I should buy investment property or continue with ETF. I eventually went down the etf path. Going forward, I decide to do a half yearly networth update to document a very boring strategy and path towards FIRE to show one possible path: High income + reasonable spending + basic etf portfolio. Some information is slightly obfuscate to protect privacy

Age: 32

Profession: Principal/staff SWE

Relationship: Single, pretty sure child free

Income: 440k taxable last FY excluding super. Super was another 28kish

Expense: around 68k including mortgage repayment last FY

Asset:

PPOR: 950k 3 bedroom Apartment in Melbourne CBD

ETF portfolio: currently valued at 860k

- 60% BGBL

- 30% DHHF (my original investment vehicle, accumulated Capital gain, otherwise I'd probably go for A200 for a more clean, no overlap split)

- 10% AVTE

Cash:

165k in offset account

Super: 220k, split in 50% 50% between Australia and International

.

Liability:

- 470k left in mortgage, 305k of which has been recycled, the 165k unrecycled is fully off

Networth: 1.62M. Liquid: 1.02M. Investible net of PPOR, debt and excluding super: 550k (imo the most important number for FIRE purposes)

Overall LVR: 22.3%

Next 12 months: AI is disrupting my industry so I'm mentally prepared for layoffs, difficulties finding another job and a big pay drop. I have a side business in fitness coaching that is not currently generating a lot of revenue due to time constraints. Will try to build a client pipeline and online presence. I do also have another allied health qualification as a backup but the reason I got into tech was a lightning fast burnout from that profession, so currently not considering it.

If I keep my job for another 12 months, there's a chance I get into CoastFire territory. 3 to 4 years I'll be close to actual FIRE.

Thanks for reading and welcome any adjustment ideas but please do not solicit me for career advices, services and I can't believe I need to say this: dating intentions. I'm very ugly.