THE FIRST OF A THREE PART SERIES BY FINANCE CONTRIBUTOR GLEN HARE
Forget the ‘lucky’ country, if Credit Suisse are to be believed; we should be changing our oft-used moniker to the wealthy country. According to their 2019 “Global Wealth Report” Australians enjoy the highest median wealth per adult in the entire world. Clocking in at an impressive $264,903, the median wealth per adult means that fifty per cent of Australians are wealthier than that figure and fifty per cent are not. While it might not always feel like it, our collective wealth is eye watering when compared with the global (per adult) median of $5,820. That’s right, our median wealth sits at a whopping forty-five times the global average.
Interestingly, the two key drivers of Australian’s wealth are the (seemingly unstoppable) forward march of property prices and our compulsory super system. In other words, the two primary drivers of Australian’s burgeoning and fabulous wealth lie within the realm of our property and share markets. Acknowledging these facts should inevitably lead to questions along the lines of “which is right for me?” Or “how can I get in on the party?” Naturally, there is no easy answer to these questions and both options come with a whole slew of pros and cons. In fact, there are so many positives and negatives to cover – I’d never be able to fit them in to our Urban Village word count, which is why we will be taking a deep dive into both over the next two issues. So, if you’re keen to know whether a terrace on Riley St or ASX 200 portfolio performed better over the past twenty years – and which one is right for you, watch this space.
