Of Picasso and your super fund

I found the recent Picasso exhibition to tour Sydney particularly enlightening because the artworks were all from the artist’s personal collection. Picasso referred to his paintings as “the pages from my diary”, so the pieces he chose to keep for himself were obviously especially significant to him. Observing the paintings it’s clear they reflect his vast range of emotions, the turbulent times in which he lived, and the abundance of lovers he took. Apparently his lovers could tell when they were shortly to be replaced by the changing style with which he depicted his incumbent amour on canvas – initially soft, sensuous and flattering moving in due course to strong, stylized and often quite unattractive. An overt hint – time to move on!

Looking closely at each painting’s exhibit label, each was attributed to “Pablo Picasso gift in lieu”. The paintings and sculptures had been given to the French state by the artist’s family in lieu of taxes owing after Picasso’s death. This must have been a huge wrench for the family but the happy outcome is that we have had the pleasure of seeing this great artist’s original works.

It got me thinking about owning art as an investment and the value we place on something that is ultimately an object of personal enjoyment and appreciation. It doesn’t give us investment returns in the traditional sense that is: raw monetary return. Therefore this type of investing would fall more to the well heeled for personal use or as a collectable item, which they may hope increases in value over time (certainly would do if you were lucky enough to own a Picasso!).

Some of you may be aware that owning collectables such as art (also coins, wine collections, jewelry, antiques etc) is possible as an investment in your self managed super fund, where you generally have more flexibility in what you are able invest in. It sounds too good to be true, what’s the catch? Self managed super funds are the fastest growing category of super fund in the country, so the regulation of them has attracted a lot of attention from the ATO. As investments in all qualifying super funds are given favourable tax rates (saving for your retirement remember!), the ATO was not overly keen on subsidizing individual’s expensive habits such as collecting Ferraris or that 60-foot cruiser moored in Sydney Harbour. Hence a crackdown on the conditions under which your personal superfund is able to hold this type of asset.

What are the conditions? The main test for owning any asset in your superfund is that it should be held for the sole purpose of funding your retirement. If it fails this so called “sole purpose” test, your fund may be disqualified and all earnings could be taxed at the highest marginal rate. Because the penalties are so high it is worth sitting up and taking note. Either refrain from holding personal use assets in your fund (my recommendation!), or make sure your artwork (read stamp collection, bottle of Grange etc) is packaged and stored away from your or any related party’s personal residences. That’s right - it cannot be kept at your home or any of your family’s, even if in the storeroom. If you have such items in your fund it is worthwhile to check with your financial adviser or accountant that you are in compliance with the regulations.  

Brilliant...or Bogus?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you can’t have failed to hear about the Kony2012 video, which has gone viral around the world and provoked a storm of controversy over a social media campaign to aid in the arrest of Joseph Kony, a despicable human being who wreaked havoc in Uganda through the use of abducted children as soldiers.

The video has been lambasted as emotionally manipulative, misleading and light on facts, the organization Invisible Children who developed and spread the video branded fraudulent and dodgy and those who have shared the video or supported the cause labelled “slacktivists” and gullible.

Let me stop at this point and state that I watched this video and shared it on my Facebook page asking friends to take 30 minutes to watch the video. I then spent the next few hours reading commentary and blogs and commentary on blogs on the many reasons why I was a complete loser/sucker for having done so.

Let’s put aside the fact for a moment that the video may have used one too many Hollywood 101 techniques to encourage a positive response in its viewers (it did) and that it may have been lightweight in its factual approach to a serious issue (it was).

What caught me by surprise was the sneering and derision that sharing the video triggered in some individuals. After considering whether I had in fact been duped into becoming an armchair activist by clicking “Share” I came to the conclusion or at least I formed a response in my head to the naysayers (don’t you have these conversations in your head? – you know when someone drops a barbed comment and you perfect a stinging reply…3 hours later L).

If we assume those who found the whole thing a bit of a con are correct, can someone please point out or even make their own video, which is acceptable to all people and explains with all the rights words, statistics and facts the issues at play. Or tell me what is the right way for me to show my support for this or similar causes. Really, I would like to hear proper options and solutions rather than just general putdowns and criticism. It’s like when you coach or manage one of your children’s sports teams. Some parents can’t help themselves but complain and whine about how and what you do…put your hand up and do a better job then, I say.

I choose to see it as a big affirmation that large majorities of people DO care about children being abducted and forced into being soldiers and want to do something, anything to end violence (especially against children) and war. Whether those children are in Africa, Afghanistan or anywhere in between we don’t want these things to happen. It’s just so damn hard to work out what to do or how to help. We can’t all join volunteering agencies and trot off from our jobs and families and responsibilities. We can’t donate every cent we have or become lobbyists or local members to make a difference. Sometimes just sparing a thought IS as much as we can realistically do. And that’s ok.

Someone who was in my life a few years ago intimated to a friend that my desire to start wisewomen was driven by ongoing bitterness about my divorce. Suffice to say that comments like that say more about the person uttering them than it does about my motivations (and that this person is no longer a part of my life!) however, it puts you on the back foot and can sound like defensive justification when you try and explain anything different once you have had accusations like these thrown at you. Far from comparing wisewomen’s aims to the problems of Africa, I use this as an example of how a message with good intentions can be high jacked or abused by those who have their own personal agendas. Or who just like to criticize but offer no other real solution.

So, what do you think? I’d love to hear if you think the Kony2012 initiative is brilliant…or bogus.