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Home / Author: Damien Klassen

Damien Klassen

A banking crisis is here, the credit crunch may be next

Usually, credit crunches come before banking crises, but this time it might happen the other way around. Here are the likely paths forward, what things that investors should monitor and the best places to hide.

Valuations still stretched in Australia’s housing market

Despite recent residential property price falls, housing affordability is getting worse, not better, driven by rising interest rates. Our numbers suggest further property price declines will be difficult to avoid.

How to invest as inflation fears fade

There are many reasons why the worries about inflation are overstated and investors should protect their portfolios against falling inflation rather than rising. The economy is completely different to the 1970s.

One last hurrah for the 60/40 portfolio?

The 60/40 diversified portfolio has been the mainstay of the superannuation industry for decades. But it is built on a fundamental principle of defensive bond returns, and its time is nigh.

Ignore solar parity at your investing peril

With coal, gas and oil, the more we use, the deeper we need to dig and the more expensive energy becomes. Solar and battery power are on a technology curve: the more the world produces, the cheaper it becomes.

How much bigger can the virus bubble get?

  Stocks have rallied hard creating a virus bubble, but will this run for years or collapse in a matter of months? The market is giving a second chance to leave so head for the exit before there's a rush.

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Investment strategies

4 ways to take advantage of the market turmoil

Every crisis throws up opportunities. Here are ideas to capitalise on this one, including ‘overbalancing’ your portfolio in stocks, buying heavily discounted LICs, and cherry picking bombed out sectors like oil and gas.

Shares

Why the ASX needs dual-class shares

The ASX is exploring the introduction of dual class share structures for listed companies. Opposition is building to the plan but the ASX should ignore the naysayers and bring Australia into line with its global peers.

The state of women's wealth in Australia

New research shows the average Australian woman has $428,000 in net wealth, 40% less than the average man. This takes a deep dive into what the gender wealth gap looks like across different life stages.

Investing

The two most dangerous words in investing

Market extremes are where the biggest investment risks and opportunities lie. While events like this are usually only obvious in hindsight, learning to watch out for these two words can alert you to them in real time.

Shares

Investing in the backbone of the digital age

Semiconductors are used to make microchips and are essential to a vast range of technology and devices. This looks at what’s driving demand for chips, how the industry is evolving, and favoured stocks to play the theme.

Gold

Why gold’s record highs in 2025 differ from prior peaks

Gold prices hit new recent highs, driven by a stronger euro, tariff concerns, and steady ETF buying – all while the precious metal’s fundamental backdrop remains solid amid a shifting global economic landscape.

Now might be the best time to switch out of bank hybrids

In this interview, Schroders' Helen Mason discusses investing in corporate and financial credit securities, market impacts of tariffs, opportunities for cash investments, and views on tier two and hybrid bonds.

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