Mortgages and bonds: the asset management practices of Australian life insurers to 1960

Recent studies of the experience of the British life insurance industry indicate that a period of transition, and the development of more diversified investment strategies, began in the interwar period. Australian life insurers lagged behind their British counterparts in the introduction of such strategies. This paper investigates why this was the case. It argues that in the Australian market there was both a lack of opportunity and incentive to broaden asset portfolios. However, this did not mean that asset management practices did not advance. Australian life offices became progressively more sophisticated in their approach to portfolio management during this period. Developments in the interwar period provided a grounding for post-war expansion into the equity market.

The case for reverse mortgages in Australia : applying the USA experience

In the USA, reverse mortgages have been promoted as a means of accessing equity locked up in a residence, especially after the owner/s has retired. Although there have been some teething problems, the concept of mortgaging the family home after achieving freehold ownership has many merits. Often an asset-rich household must survive on relatively small regular income, and is unable to access the increasing wealth of the family home. A reverse mortgage overcomes this hurdle.

The largest asset for many ageing households is their primary place of residence, the traditional house and suburban land parcel. Recently, the Australian housing market has witnessed substantial growth in the value of its capital city housing, especially on the east coast of Australia. This can be attributed to factors such as owner-occupiers trading up to a better class of dwelling, and the continuing gentrification process for owners choosing not to relocate. At the same time, demographic changes have placed pressure on the regular income of retirees, many of whom have no superannuation fund. For example, life expectancy rates continue to rise and there are an increasing proportion of single person households in society. This has placed additional pressure on financial resources of retirees, especially those with a substantial investment in their family home and a relatively small pension.

This paper visits the reverse mortgage scenario in the USA and considers potential implications for the Australian market. Strengths and weaknesses of this product are contemplated, and the viability of reverse mortgages is discussed. Although there are obvious benefits for certain segments of society, reverse mortgages are a unique product and caution should be exercised to ensure the public is fully knowledgeable from the outset.

Australian property law: cases, materials and analysis

"CONTENTS: Concepts of Property; Possession and Title; Fixtures, Encroachment and Boundaries; Adverse Possession; The Doctrine of Tenure and Estates; Leases; Native Title; Equitable Interests; Priority Rules; The Torrens System; Unregistered Interests; Easements; Covenants; Mortgages; Co-ownership."--Provided by publisher.

How the financial crisis sundered the dream of the autonomous subject

The article discusses the effect of the 2008 economic meltdown on self-reliance. Banks are noted to have honored credit default swaps and purchase mortgages as collateralized debt obligations (CDO) with the option of buy back at face value. Also discussed are the Wall Street Bailout, the Australian banking system and the overseas debt of Australia.

Housing tenure and affordability and mental health following disability acquisition in adulthood

Acquiring a disability in adulthood is associated with a reduction in mental health and access to secure and affordable housing is associated with better mental health. We hypothesised that the association between acquisition of disability and mental health is modified by housing tenure and affordability. We used twelve annual waves of data (2001-2012) (1913 participants, 13,037 observations) from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey. Eligible participants reported at least two consecutive waves of disability preceded by two consecutive waves without disability. Effect measure modification, on the additive scale, was tested in three fixed-effects linear regression models (which remove time-invariant confounding) which included a cross-product term between disability and prior housing circumstances: housing tenure by disability; housing affordability by disability and, in a sub-sample (896 participants 5913 observations) with housing costs, tenure/affordability by disability. The outcome was the continuous mental component summary (MCS) of SF-36. Models adjusted for time-varying confounders. There was statistical evidence that prior housing modified the effect of disability acquisition on mental health. Our findings suggested that those in affordable housing had a -1.7 point deterioration in MCS (95% CI -2.1, -1.3) following disability acquisition and those in unaffordable housing had a -4.2 point reduction (95% CI -5.2, -1.4). Among people with housing costs, the largest declines in MCS were for people with unaffordable mortgages (-5.3, 95% CI -8.8, -1.9) and private renters in unaffordable housing (-4.0, 95% CI -6.3, -1.6), compared to a -1.4 reduction (95% CI -2.1, -0.7) for mortgagors in affordable housing. In sum, we used causally-robust fixed-effects regression and showed that deterioration in mental health following disability acquisition is modified by prior housing circumstance with the largest negative associations found for those in unaffordable housing. Future research should test whether providing secure, affordable housing when people acquire a disability prevents deterioration in mental health.