Articles by

Barbara Drury

Barbara is a financial journalist and author with over 30 years’ experience in Australia and the UK. She is a contributor to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age Money section, and has worked for the Australian Financial Review and The Australian.

The Sharpe Ratio: Risk-adjusted returns and your super

We all want to earn top notch returns from our super fund, but at what level of risk? This is how you find the sweet spot.
How to benchmark your super fund

If you’re unhappy with your super fund’s performance, it’s getting easier to check how it stacks up against the best of the rest. We explain how.
Dixon Advisory’s fall from grace: 4 lessons for all investors

When Dixon Advisory collapsed, it left a trail of aggrieved SMSFs and investment losses. It’s a saga we can all learn from.
3 very different types of retirement

Once you’ve blown out the candles on your 60th birthday cake, retirement beckons. Or does it? For many Australians, the path to retirement has twists and turns they never imagined.
2021 year in review, 2022 year in preview

In another year dominated by COVID-19 disruptions to lives and livelihoods, investors have much to celebrate.
Super funds with the lowest fees

Discover the cheapest super funds overall, funds with the lowest fees for each investment category, as well the most expensive super funds.
SMSFs structures: Corporate or individual trustee?

Corporate trustees are becoming increasingly popular with SMSFs, but an individual trustee structure also has its merits.
Your Future, Your Super: What it means for you

After much haggling, the Government’s latest package of super reforms aimed at tackling high fees and low performance has passed through parliament.
2020–21 year in review: A dramatic recovery

After the coronavirus recession of early 2020, the strength of the economic recovery and investment returns defied all expectations, in a good way.
Member services: What separates the best super funds from the rest?

Member services have the potential to rev up your super returns, so check what’s on offer.
Super fund fees: Do lower fees mean better net returns?

Fees are important, but they are not the only thing driving superannuation’s investment returns.
2020 year in review, 2021 preview

After a tumultuous year that rocked lives and livelihoods, investors have cause for cautious optimism in the year ahead.
2019-20 year in review

It was a year when it felt like an achievement just to make it to the other side.
The SMSF trustee declaration explained

An SMSF trustee declaration is an Australian Taxation Office (ATO) document that summarises the duties and obligations of an SMSF trustee or director.
2019 year in review

Shares at record highs and interest rates at record lows. One of the defining aspects of 2019 was the flight to higher risk assets in pursuit of higher returns.
How the rich invest

Have you ever wondered how the rich invest? Very cautiously is the answer.
2018-19 year in review

As we look back over the 2018/19 financial year, it was a year in two halves.
SMSFs: Top 10 alternative investments

SMSF trustees are often accused of being unadventurous in their asset allocation, but some are bucking the trend with ‘exotic’ investments in everything from horse semen to vending machines and dividend-paying cows.