Aussies flock to Tesla shares: Five things you missed this week

Banks commit to Australia Post, and how to retire with an extra $650,000 in savings.

Here are five things you missed this week.

EV stocks put pedal to the metal

Electric vehicle makers remain the most held global stocks on trading platform eToro.

Tesla overtook its Chinese competitor Nio to take top spot. The two electric vehicle (EV) stocks have remained in favour with eToro traders despite Tesla and Nio have falling 6.9% and 0.5% respectively since the start of the year. In Australia, investments in Tesla increased by 6% this quarter, while Nio dropped 8%.

"Tesla and Nio have both been the two most prominent stocks for Australian investors over the last six months," says eToro analyst Josh Gilbert.

"We can see that Australian investors are adapting to a long-term buy-and-hold strategy with both these assets, anticipating that the EV space will dominate the automotive industry for many years to come. Tesla has slightly more skin in the game than Nio, and that's why Australian Investors are opting for Tesla shares right now."

Rounding out the top ten are GameStop, Apple, Palantir Technologies, Amazon, BioNano Genomics, Microsoft, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc, and Alibaba.

Banks back Australia Post

Both National Australia Bank (NAB) and Commonwealth Bank (CBA) have inked 10-year extensions to their partnerships with Australia Post, ensuring customers continue to get over-the-counter banking services at over 3500 Australia Post outlets.

"This renewed partnership provides certainty for our customers, knowing that for at least the next 10 years, they will have access to essential banking services through this national network of Post Offices," says NAB's group executive for personal banking, Rachel Slade.

"We have a strong relationship with Australia Post and investing multi-millions of dollars each year for a decade in the capability, technology and security of Bank@Post outlets builds on our priority to reimagine services and ensure our customers can continue to bank easily, safely and securely whenever they visit a participating Australia Post outlet," adds CBA's group executive for retail banking services, Angus Sullivan.

Hostplus and Inplus agree to merge

Financial Standard has revealed that Hostplus and Inplus have signed a successor fund transfer deed, with the merger expected to be completed by November 26.

Hostplus is a much larger fund, with $66 billion in assets and 1.25 million members, while Intrust has about $3 billion in assets and 90,000 members.

"... we recognise and respect the core sectors that many of our combined members passionately and tirelessly work within. The merged entity will enable a strong, continued focus on those sectors," says Intrust chief executive Brendan O'Farrell.

Solo property buyers increase during pandemic

Amid surging house prices, the number of home loan applications ME Bank from singles increased 3 points in 2020 compared to 12 months prior. They now account for 38% of all ME Bank loan applications.

The average loan size for single-mortgage applications increased by 1% to $405,755.

"The dream of homeownership is still a priority for many Australians - whether they're applying for a loan by themselves or with someone else," says ME's head of home loans and personal banking, Claudio Mazzarella.

"While there can be challenges with solo applications, such as saving for a deposit and borrowing capacity, it's certainly not impossible."

Mazzarella says that for singles looking to enter the property market, but unsure about a single mortgage application, one strategy to consider is co-buying - purchasing a property with a family member or friend.

"Also consider a guarantor − someone who uses their property as security for your loan.

When you have a guarantor, lenders are more likely to let you borrow more money so if you default and can't pay your loan, they can sell that property as well as yours to recoup their losses."

Retire with an extra $650,000 in super 

From July 1, the superannuation guarantee will increase from 9.5% to 12% in 0.5 percentage point increments each year, while the annual concessional contributions cap is also set to increase from $25,000 to $27,500.

Colonial First State has calculated what this means for Aussies with a good few working years still to go.

The SG increase alone will see a 35-year-old add just over $86,000 to their retirement nest egg, while a 45-year-old will end up with $51,000 more in their retirement savings.

However, maxing out the concessional contributions is where the really big gains can be made.

Maxing out the concessional contribution to $27,500 a year will give a 35-year-old $650,000 extra by age 67, while a 45 who maxes out the concessional contribution cap will end up with over $400,000 more in savings.

"The boost for retirement balances is greatest for younger workers, thanks to the power of compounded investment returns," says Colonial First State general manager Kelly Power.

"This is particularly true for those who withdrew their super early last year to deal with the pandemic and cover basic expenses, now is the time to start making up some lost ground by using these contributions to replenish their super and rebuild their nest eggs."

Correction: An earlier version of this story did not accurately explain that the concessional contributions cap includes SG contributions. 

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