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7 March 2025
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This time last year, I highlighted 16 ASX stocks that investors could own indefinitely. One year on, I look at whether there should be any changes to the list of stocks as well as which companies are worth buying now.
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The ABS recently released figures which are used to determine key superannuation rates and thresholds that will apply from 1 July 2025. This outlines the rates and thresholds that are changing and those that aren’t.
While much of the investment industry recommends selling the banks, many were saying the same thing 12 months ago. The reporting season shows why bank shareholders should be rewarded for ignoring the current market noise.
Understanding investment risk in superannuation is crucial for your retirement account. Here's a guide on how to define, take, and manage risk to select the right investment mix tailored to your unique circumstances.
Money supply provides an early and good read on whether the cash rate setting is transmitting to accelerating, steady or slowing price pressures. This explores recent data on money supply and what lies ahead for inflation.
Relative valuations and superior GDP growth alone are not compelling enough reasons for an improvement in emerging market equity returns. Earnings growth looks more likely to revive the asset class’s strong long-term record.
Commercial property took a beating in recent years as markets adjusted to higher interest rates. From here, strong demand tailwinds and a sharp fall in fresh supply could support solid returns for the best assets.
Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 601 2
New figures show Australia’s household wealth has reached a record-high $17.2 trillion, or $623,000 per person. It’s been driven by continued growth in superannuation assets, including SMSFs, as well as resilient property prices.Read More.
With the arrival of the new year, the first members of ‘Generation X’ turned 60, marking the start of the MTV generation’s collective journey towards retirement. Are Gen Xers and our retirement system ready for the transition?
Our retirement income system has too many rule changes, too many options, poorly explained and then seemingly at odds with each other when decumulation kicks in. Key experts weight in on how to fix the mess.
Warren Buffett's annual shareholder letter has been fixture for avid investors for decades. In his latest letter, Buffett is reticent on many key topics, but his actions rather than words are sending clear signals to investors.
A new capital cycle is upon us and instead of funding dividends and buybacks, many companies are funding tangible projects. This could result in a whole different set of stock market winners and losers.
The CIO of Australia’s fourth largest super fund by assets, John Pearce, suggests the odds favour a flat year for markets, with the possibility of a correction of 10% or more. However, he’ll use any dip as a buying opportunity.
A Grattan Institute report suggests lifetime annuities as a solution to people not spending their super balances. The issue is whether underspending is the real problem or a sign of more fundamental failings in our retirement system.
If Australia is to control its own destiny in an AI-enabled future, it must build its own infrastructure, not rent it from overseas. Creating homemade AI is the first critical step in the long process of building Australia's AI economy.
Strategist Russell Napier says central banks have lifted interest rates too far and a deflationary shock is coming. He believes Governments will react radically and investors should avoid bonds and US stocks, and own more gold.
The discrepancies that are appearing between Treasury budget forecasts and actual outcomes need closer examination. The inaccurate forecasts are impacting economic projections and investment decisions.
GDP was 0.3% for last quarter but the real story is this was Australia’s seventh consecutive quarter of negative GDP per capita growth. How does this economic drought compare to past ones, and what can we expect in future?
The more the US needs capital and funding, the higher its currency goes. For Australia, this has become a significant problem as the US draws our capital to sustain its growth, putting pressure on our economy and the Aussie dollar.
The return of Donald Trump to the US presidency brings the prospect of more US tax cuts and deregulation, but also more tariff hikes, trade wars and policy uncertainty. Here's what it means for markets going forward.
This is probably the most interesting earnings season in my 20-odd-year career, with share prices meaningfully diverging from earnings and prospects. It’s reflected all the greed and fear of investor behaviour.
Several macro tailwinds seem to have gathered behind high quality commercial properties. Meanwhile, a fresh wave of domestic capital could see more competition for deals and support values in one asset class especially.
Australia boasts one of the world's highest dividend yielding sharemarkets, providing substantial benefits to investors and retirees. Despite this, individuals often stretch for even more yield, to their detriment.
The Australian sharemarket seems to be rewarding a number of unprofitable companies on the promise of future riches. Yet profits and cashflows still matter, as a recent case study of Domino's Pizza shows.
Exceptional returns from the US sharemarket over the past decade have driven by sales growth, margin expansion, rising valuations, and dividends. Predicting future returns requires careful consideration of these factors.
US equities rule global markets, but history is littered with examples of markets that seemed invincible — until they weren’t. Diversification will be key for investor portfolios going forwards.
Untangling assets after a broken relationship can be daunting. But approaching the situation fully informed, in good health and with open communication can make the process more manageable and less costly.
Any discussion on annuities needs to address the credit risk associated with relying on the solvency of a single insurer. Here's a guide on the regulation of annuities and the best ways to assess solvency risk.
A person's criminal record can impact whether they can benefit under a will or remain as an executor, trustee or testamentary guardian. A lot depends on the nature of the crime.
Unlike family trusts, testamentary trusts are activated posthumously, empowering you to exert post-death control over your assets. Learn how testamentary trusts offer unique benefits and protective measures.
Australia is in the early throes of an intergenerational wealth transfer worth an estimated $3.5 trillion. Here's a case study highlighting some of the challenges with transferring wealth between generations.
As we get older, many of us start to think about how we’ll be remembered by those left behind. This looks at why that may not be the best strategy to ensure that you live life well and leave loved ones in good stead.
Despite a recent pullback, gold has been one of the best performing assets this year. What are the key factors behind the rise and what's needed for the bull market in the yellow metal to continue?
MFS chief investment officer and CEO elect Ted Maloney talks market risks, similarities between Trump and Harris, and the most important thing investors can do to avoid destroying value.
In a recent interview, Morningstar CEO Kunal Kapoor explains why low-cost investing wins, how artificial intelligence and ESG will bring lots of opportunities, and why distractions are an investor's worst enemy.
The distortions in our tax system have been ignored for too long, and we're now paying the price. It's time Australia got real and addressed the problems to prevent an even greater intergenerational tragedy.
We interviewed Sir Michael Hintze while his credit-focused hedge fund CQS was at the height of its powers. Since then, he's changed the firm's investment strategy and found a buyer in Canadian giant, Manulife.
The dream of many investors is to be able to live off the dividend income from their shares. There is a relatively simple way to do this though it requires a mental fortitude that may not be for everyone.
Welcome to a special 600th Edition of Firstlinks. Over 12 years, Firstlinks has become one of Australia’s leading financial newsletters. We mark the occasion as well as delve into the best ways to find a good fund manager.
The world’s largest mutual fund company, Vanguard, says AI will drive a US economic renaissance and tame inflation. And it believes the biggest beneficiaries of the transformation won’t be the large-cap tech companies.
Advisers and newsletters such as ours invariably focus on financial aspects of retirement. But retirement is about more than money; it’s about having goals, finding purpose, and connecting more deeply with family and friends.
New figures show the cost-of-living crisis is continuing to hit workers hard, though it appears to be easing for pensioners. The Government’s problem is that people have long memories when it comes to price increases.
Scientific research suggests that your personality largely determines your financial success. This looks at the latest studies and what tools that you can use to improve self-awareness and become a better investor.
A new book provides fascinating, little known insights into the earliest investments of the world’s greatest investor, Warren Buffett, including one which may have been the blueprint for Berkshire Hathaway.
The structure of many dividend ETFs leads to lacklustre or non-existent dividend growth. Balancing high yields with long-term dividend growth is essential for effective income investing.
One of Buffett's most successful investments has been a confectionery company that he bought more than 50 years ago. The investment demonstrates that stocks need not be growth companies to create fortunes.
Shani Jayamanne takes a deliberately uninterested approach to investing. She outlines the technical and circumstantial reasons for why she goes against the grain and focuses on the real drivers of investment success.
Why do people have trouble shifting from a saving to spending mindset in retirement? Researchers have plenty of theories though can't identify an exact cause, nevertheless there are things that can enable the shift.
For those with the patience to own an investment as volatile as the AI sector, buying and holding a stock basket might make sense. However, based on internet stocks’ history, you need not rush to do so.
With the Treasury Department's review of superannuation in retirement, decumulation is firmly on the agenda, yet advisors have been grappling with this issue for years. So, what could super funds learn from advisers?
targets next generation of Australian investors with new 100% equities and income-generating diversified ETFs.
webinar: "Why your client's portfolio needs a slice of property" 9th April 2025. Earn CPD points.
appoints Asia Pacific Managing Director to its Global Enterprise Relationship Management Group.
As we start 2024, the 12th year of publishing Firstlinks, we have gone back over 540 editions and about 1,000 articles by me to find some of our most popular and standout articles. Enjoy a look back!
Australians don't need dodgy schemes in Caribbean islands to hide their wealth. There are plenty of legal ways to avoid paying tax but they will leave personal income tax carrying a heavy burden for future generations.
While the ATO has many ways to watch taxpayer transactions and ensure tax is collected, for some unknown reason, it is legal to select from four different cost base treatments for capital gains tax. It's costing billions.
Stocks always outperform bonds in the long-term, right? New research challenges that assumption, raising questions about historical financial data, and forecasts for future performance from the two largest asset classes.