CommSec

Australian companies’ dividend payouts are down 24 per cent from a year ago, as higher interest rates and cash flow challenges darken the outlook. Payouts from miners decreased significantly, although the dividend picture remains positive for banks.

Australia’s states and territories are all still enjoying strong economic performance despite tumultuous conditions, but strong labour and housing data has propelled Tasmania to reclaim the top spot from Queensland in CommSec’s “State of the States” report for Q4 2022.

Although more Australian companies are paying dividends in 2023, many have reduced payouts, with the year-to-date total slightly behind 2022’s figures, according to CommSec research. The big miners are leading the cuts, while energy producers are lifting dividends to reflect record high gas prices.

Growth in superannuation drove Australia’s managed fund industry to near-record levels in the December 2022 quarter. While most asset classes delivered positive returns and Australian equities outperformed, investors are looking more to offshore assets for portfolio diversification.

Household wealth in September recorded its third largest quarterly decline since the Australian Bureau of Statistics began keeping records in 1989. And wealth is likely to keep falling in the coming quarters, as the lagged effects of interest rate hikes flow through.

The cost of living has risen dramatically in 2022, with the Reserve Bank of Australia increasing the cash rate seven times since April and the major banks keeping pace on mortgage rates. But there could be good news on the horizon.

Financial planners are advising Australians to diversify out of property and put more money into superannuation, as statistics show falling asset values contributing to a nearly $500 billion decline in household wealth for the June quarter.

Commonwealth Bank-owned brokerage platform CommSec and former CBA subsidiary AUSIEX have been hit with $27 million in fines for violating ASIC’s market integrity rules, in the largest-ever penalty handed down for such breaches.

The Australian share market is tipped to fall by up to 9 per cent in 2022 but to rise 5 per cent to 8 per cent over 2023, according to new forecasts from CommSec. While share prices have fallen this year, Australian companies remain well cashed up and profits sit at record highs, which will help to drive gains next year

Australians are the richest they have ever been, with wealth pushed up by rising property and shares values to a record $14.9 trillion in the March quarter of 2022, while wealth per capita surged to a record high of $574,807, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.