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8 February 2026
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Smart beta indexing, an Australian in US shares, property boom, mean reversion, cost of demanding dividend yields, and trend towards thematic investing.
Smart beta strategies are now common but they were a quirky idea when Rob Arnott set up his first fund. This veteran of US investing talks about asset allocation, demographics and the state of the asset management industry.
In part 2 of Who Wins? we look at an Australian investor holding US shares compared with an investment in the local market, plus the relationship between inflation and exchange rates.
By many measures, Australian housing is overpriced, largely due to the restricted availability of land and low interest rates. What can the Government and the Reserve Bank do to prevent a bubble from forming?
The 'buy-low, sell-high' mantra implies markets are mean reverting and periods of extreme negative returns are not likely to be sustained. Unfortunately, we find it hard to invest when markets are in the doldrums.
There’s nothing quite like receiving cash without having contributed any sweat or labour. But are dividends the best way for companies to reward their investors? What's happened to reinvesting for future growth?
Many of the world’s most serious challenges relate to secular forces such as population growth and productivity, and amid the problems will arise a wide range of investment opportunities.
What are the best ways to build a simple portfolio from scratch? I’ve addressed this issue before but think it’s worth revisiting given markets and the world have since changed, throwing up new challenges and things to consider.
At this time last year, I forecast that 2025 would likely be a positive year given strong economic prospects and disinflation. The outlook for this year is less clear cut and here is what investors should do.
Treasury has released draft legislation for a new version of the controversial $3 million super tax. It's a significant improvement on the original proposal but there are some stings in the tail.
The renowned investor says 2025’s real story wasn’t AI or US stocks but the shift away from American assets and a collapse in the value of money. And he outlines how to best position portfolios for what’s ahead.
The predictions include dividends will outstrip growth as a source of Australian equity returns, US market performance will be underwhelming, while US government bonds will beat gold.
We don’t have a housing shortage; we have housing misallocation. This explores why so many bedrooms go unused, what’s been tried before, and five things to unlock housing capacity – no new building required.