FROM THE EDITOR
T
hebeautyof$10,000is in theeyeof
thebeholder.Wefindoutin ourcover
storythismonth,“Wheretoinvest$10k”,
thateverythingis soexpensivethesedays
theamountdoesn’tseemlikemuch.Butwe
canvassedtheviewsofeightfinanceexperts
anddiscoveredtherearewaystoturn
$10,000intoa princelysum.It’snotthe
sizeofthewindfallbuttheintentionto
investit wisely.Findoutmoreonpage34.
If you’vegota sizeablepropertyportfolio
orarelookingtobuyone,youmustbe
unnervedbythescandalssurroundingthe
OpalandMascottowersin Sydney.Aswe
gotopress,I readreportsabouta blockof
unitsin Zetland,anotherinner-citysuburb
in Sydney,that’sbeenabandonedforeight
monthsduetowaterdamagearisingfrom
poorconstruction.It’senoughtomakeyou
stayoutofthemarketfora longtime.
WeaskedNicolaFieldtotelluswhatto
lookoutforwhenmakingyournext
purchase(page58).
The articleclosesttomyheartfromthis
issueis “Nosecrets,please”(page50),
whichlooksatthedynamicsbetweencou-
pleswhenit comestomoney.It raisesfour
must-askquestionstoavertsexuallytrans-
mittedfinancialdistress.Perhapsyouneed
strawberriesandchampagneontheready
forthisone.
Ona moreseriousnote,we’regladtosee
theriseofshareholderactivismandthe
renewedpushforbetterboardgovernance
(page76).Toborrowa popularsaying,fish
rotsfromthetop:ASX-listedcompanies
thathavefallenfoulofshareholderrules
needstrongleadersatthehelmandin
somecasesinvestorsthemselvesneed
tostayvigilant.
If you’rea smallbusinessownerora
buddingentrepreneur,here’ssomethingto
keepyouinspired:Australiansoftdrinks
brandNexba(Interview,page20)has
secureda distributordealwithUK
grocerygiantSainsbury’s.
The skyis thelimitwhenyou’vegot
a winningidea.Make $10k
work for you
Michelle Baltazar,
Editor-in-chiefFeedback
I can’t understand why so many customers
stay with the big four banks, especially
after the shocking revelations from the
banking royal commission last year. There
are some great alternative institutions
to bank with, such as credit unions and
customer-owned banks.
My husband and I made the change
more than 20 years ago, and find the fees
at our customer-owned bank are much
lower. It offers much better interest rates
on savings accounts and term deposits,
and much more competitive home loans
as well. It even rewards loyalty, such as an
extra 0.2% interest on term deposits for
long-term customers, which is a great help
in the current low-interest environment.
I would like to strongly encourage Money
readers who bank with one of the big four
banks to consider moving to one of these
alternative institutions. We did and have
never looked back because we have saved
hundreds of dollars by doing so.
MarianneIt’s time to ditch
the big four banksLetter of the month
Jumping on
the bandwagon
July’s edition highlights the ASX200 breaking
through the 30% barrier for women on boards
(page 13). So what? Is that some sort of bench-
mark? Is that good enough, not enough or too
much? What is the “barrier”?
I would like to see solid facts on whether
or not having more or fewer women and/or
men is a determinant of the success of ASX
boards? It might help to explore the impact that
factors like education, experience, age, ethnic
background, economic conditions, marketing
and maybe even just pure luck have made a dif-
ference to board and company performance.
Headline-grabbing stats such as those under
your “30%” banner tend to fuel zealots pushing
their own bandwagons ... and that isn’t always
the best way forward.
RonEd’s note: Thanks for your comment, Ron.
This was a tiny snapshot of what is a significantEDITOR’S DESK