Retiree numbers, super balances set to balloon By Neil Griffiths 29 June 2021
Australia’s super system will play an “increasingly important role” in supporting the living standards of the nation’s soaring population of future retirees, according to peak body ASFA.
Intergenerational Report (IGR) released on Monday projects that expenditure on health and aged care will increase from a combined 5.3 per cent to 8.3 per cent in 2060-61. It also projects that the proportion of the population aged 65 and over will rise over from 16 per cent to 23 per cent over the next 40 years.
“This report highlights the importance of superannuation for Australian retirees who face higher medical and aged care costs in the coming decades,” ASFA chief executive, Dr Martin Fahy, said.
Investment implications of India’s outbreak By Aayush Sonthalia 29 June 2021
With immediate family in India, personally the past few weeks have been the most harrowing of my life. India’s early experience with COVID-19 was relatively mild. Based on the information available, the country’s virus-related deaths in early to mid-2020 were low on a per capita basis compared to those in the US. In early 2021, when COVID cases were still relatively low in India, a sense of complacency grew among the general population and the government regarding the transmissibility of the virus. That complacency, coupled with five regional elections, a relatively slow pace of vaccinations, and the virus’ triple mutation variant, fuelled the recent spike in the positivity rate to more than 20 per cent by early May.
Should responsible investors only consider ‘green leaders’? By Marie Walbaum 29 June 2021
Instinctively, we are tempted to think that a responsible investor will categorically refuse to invest in companies that pollute or are too resource-intensive. In fact, we need to take a nuanced approach and seek to identify the “good students in the making” in addition to companies that have long adopted a sustainable business model and practices for the planet.
Investing in existing ‘green leaders’
Investing in “green leaders” means choosing to support companies that are explicitly run to facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy. A few examples include: