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4 May 2024
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Growth investors are using Buffett to justify buying blue chip stocks at almost any price. It’s a recipe for potential disaster, as investors in market darlings like CBA and Cochlear may be about to find out.
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With Australia’s population moving through the fastest rate of growth since the 1950s, our cities and towns are naturally densifying. This is a look at the latest trends and how they will impact the property market.
We're nearing the end of the financial year and it's time for SMSFs and other super funds to make the most of the strategies available to them. Here's a 24-point checklist of the most important issues to address.
Nvidia has taken the world by storm and is now the third largest stock on the planet - larger than Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet. Here is the latest take on Nvidia from a fund manager who first invested in the company in 2016.
Despite being richer, surveyed measures of happiness have been flat to falling in Australia. Some suggest we should focus less on GDP and more on broader measures of wellbeing, though there are pros and cons to that approach.
In an era where growth companies dominate and the likes of Nvidia grab all of the attention, dividend paying stocks are flying under the radar. Some of these stocks offer compelling prospective returns.
After more than a decade of pitiful yields, bonds are back offering better prospects for income investors. What are the best ways to take advantage of the market inefficiencies in Australian fixed income?
Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 558 with weekend update 2
Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta will spend more on capital expenditure this year than Australia’s entire private sector. It raises questions about whether the ASX’s dividend fetish may be good for shareholders but bad for the country.Read More.
How useful are the retirement savings and spending targets put out by various groups such as ASFA? Not very, and it's reducing the ability of ordinary retirees to fully understand their retirement income options.
As long as the banks have no desire to pay up for term deposit funding - which looks likely for a while yet - investors will continue to pay a premium for the higher yielding, but riskier hybrid instrument.
The rise of the Magnificent Seven and their large weighting in US indices has led to debate about concentration risk in markets. Whatever your view, the crowding into these stocks poses several challenges for global investors.
Money can bolster our joy in real ways. However, if we relentlessly chase wealth at the expense of other facets of well-being, history and science both teach us that it will lead to a hollowing out of life.
Baby boomers will account for a third of population growth between 2024 and 2029, making this generation the biggest age-related growth sector over this period. They will shape the housing market with their unique preferences.
The surviving spouse has a lot to think about when a member of an SMSF dies. While it pays to understand the options quickly, often they’re best served by moving a little more slowly before making final decisions.
Market consensus is that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates well ahead of the RBA. The latest data has cast doubt on this, raising the prospect of an earlier RBA cut to prop up a faltering economy.
The Chinese economic model needs an overhaul and a currency devaluation is one way for the country to restructure. If a devaluation happens, it will have significant ramifications for Australia and the world.
The consumer price index is supposed to reflect the cost of living but no longer does. The ABS publishes other estimates that provide a more accurate picture of our living expenses, and how much they've recently risen.
On December 9, 1983, the Hawke Labor Government made the momentous decision to float the Australian dollar. This looks back at the history behind the decision and how it's served the country well since.
China’s economic slowdown and the resilience of the US dollar have dimmed the lustre of many Asian economies’ strong growth momentum in the past year. But heading into 2024, Asia's growth story should reignite.
Former RBA Governor Ian Macfarlane says our economy has held up well given the sharp spike in interest rates. He thinks that economic strength plus high inflation mean rates are more likely to go higher than lower in 2024.
The US market has pummelled Australia's over the past 16 years and for good reason: it has some incredible businesses. Australia does too, but if you want to enjoy US-type returns, you need to know where to look.
Global REITs have been out of favour for some time. While office remains a concern, the rest of the sector is in good shape and offers compelling value, with many REITs trading below underlying asset replacement costs.
Recently, I compiled a list of ASX stocks that you could buy and hold forever. Here’s a follow-up list of US stocks that you could own indefinitely, including well-known names like Microsoft, as well as lesser-known gems.
Your author prematurely advocated investing in small caps almost 12 months ago. Since then, the investment landscape has changed, and there are even more reasons to believe small caps are likely to outperform going forward.
The real estate industry, traditionally characterised by its cautious adoption of new technologies, is now at a pivotal juncture. The emergence of AI promises to fundamentally change the way we live, work, and play.
A new report suggests that Australians are ill prepared for the largest intergenerational wealth handover in history. It's estimated $3.5 trillion in assets will be transferred from Baby Boomers to their children by 2050.
In less than five years, all Baby Boomers will be eligible for retirement and the Baby Boomer bubble will have all but deflated. What happens next, and what are the implications for the wealth management industry?
There are a lot of vague statements about the costs of financial advice in Australia. This insider's knowledge shows the actual costs are skyrocketing but demand for financial advice remains strong.
Should you give your children their inheritance before you die? It's a thorny question asked more often as Baby Boomers in Australia grow older and die richer. Do they leave larger bequests or help buy the kids a home?
Most people do not spend enough time thinking about achieving the best outcomes from their estate or gifts and loans before they die. Consider a trust to look after the needs of all your descendants, forever.
An actuary warns of the frustrations he experienced as executor of his brother's will, a role he expected to be straightforward. He knew super does not automatically form part of an estate but there are traps for all to learn.
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.
Traditionally, equity income funds buy high-dividend companies but earnings growth should be a key component of an investment strategy. Receiving income from selling call options compensates for the lower dividends.
Harry Markowitz died last week at the age of 95. He was the 1990 Nobel Laureate and the father of Modern Portfolio Theory. He explained to me the magic moment when he realised how risk-return in portfolios works.
First Sentier’s decision to hand $14 billion back to investors is a further sign of fund managers grappling with the exponential rise of ETFs. Yet it comes as the ETF industry may be sowing the seeds for its own future downturn.
Did you know the resources sector was once 65% of the Australian market? Or that CSR was our 2nd largest stock? Here's a look at the ebbs and flows of ASX stocks and sectors through time, and what it may mean for the future.
There are five ways to get really rich: a highly paid career, having equity in a business, the Bank of Mum and Dad, luck, or a combination of these. We run through the hardest and easiest routes to becoming wealthy.
Our priorities and values change as we get older from both the ageing process and because we become fundamentally different people. It means our financial goals are likely to shift, often dramatically, through time.
As global ETF assets smash records, fund manager equity allocations reach two-year highs, 4x leveraged stock products take off, and loss-making Reddit pops 48% upon IPO’ing, markets are starting to feel like 2021.
Being rich is having a high-paying job and accumulating fancy houses and cars, while being wealthy is owning assets that provide passive income, as well as freedom and flexibility. Knowing the difference can reframe your life.
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?
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.
Key takeaways from this year include economic outlooks have limited usefulness in positioning portfolios, and there’s a difference between falling prices and cheap assets, and that difference matters a great deal.
UniSuper and AustralianSuper are large, complex investment businesses, and it's worth taking a look under the hood before making an investment decision. This looks at the growing trend of bringing investment management in-house.
It's impossible to predict when the next recession will happen. That said, looking at which types of investments have historically fared best during economic downturns can help you limit some of the damage.
It's carnage in bond markets now with bonds potentially heading for a third straight year of losses, something that hasn't happened over the past 100 years. Is this the beginning of a decades-long bond bear market?
Paul John Keating is a former Australian politician who served as the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1991 to 1996 as leader of the Labor Party.
Phil Ruthven is the founder and director of IBISWorld, Australia's best-known business information, forecasting and strategic services corporation
reduces fees to bolster long term retirement outcomes for members.
Webinar: The extra scoop advantage in Australian equities, 9 May.
commits up to USD400 million to Macquarie renewables fund.
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.
People love new things, and investors are no different. But there's something to be said for older businesses that have a proven formula for success, and here are nine ASX-listed stocks that fit the bill.
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.
Returns from the major banks haven't been great over the past ten years, though that could change with higher rates, less competition and cost savings opportunities. Some banks look better value than others.