17 July 2026

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Home / Author: Ashley Owen

Ashley Owen

The sorry tale of our big banks

The history of the Big Four banks is littered with bad strategies by overpaid executives, taxpayer-funded rescues and a lack of competition. As the banks clean up the Royal Commission mess, Macquarie has overall done better.

Ashley Owen
23 October 2018
8

Aussie shares: 50 years and we’re finally ahead

It's too easy to look at a long-term chart of rising share prices and be reassured about performance. But adjusted for inflation, many of our largest companies have gone nowhere in half a century.

Ashley Owen
29 August 2018
15

Why dividend yields in Australia are so high

Australian companies have a long and frustrating history of wasting billions of dollars of capital on overseas dreams, and institutional investors should be taking a harder line to protect their capital.

Ashley Owen
2 August 2018
5

Winners and losers in sharemarkets, 2017/18

The Australian market again delivered strong returns in 2017-2018 with big sector differences, but there were large variations in global performance depending on the currency hedging strategy.

Ashley Owen
5 July 2018

Little room for error in equity markets now

Investors are complacent and expect double-digit profit growth to continue for many years, but the market consensus for EPS growth is now in dangerous territory with more downside potential than upside.

Ashley Owen
10 May 2018
2

Baggy Green summit was bottom of GFC

After test matches resumed in 1993, Australia held the upper hand and peaked at the bottom of the GFC. In stock markets, South Africa is edging it in US$ terms but killing it in local currencies.

Ashley Owen
29 March 2018

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Latest Updates

Planning

Does your will qualify for the discretionary testamentary trust exemption?

Treasury has confirmed the exemption many families were hoping for. But buried in the fine print are two conditions that could leave some wills on the wrong side of the exemption, despite years of careful planning.

Rachael Rofe
15 July 2026
7

Lithium's latest drop and what it means for ASX investors

Lithium's latest sell-off has punished ASX miners as prices remain hostage to shifting expectations. The key challenge is navigating a market prone to extreme volatility despite a strong case for the long-term demand outlook.

David Tuckwell
15 July 2026

Investment strategies

CGT reform and fund turnover: who really feels the impact?

The implications of CGT reform are far and wide. As the 50% discount gives way to inflation indexation, turnover and return profiles may become critical drivers of after-tax performance. Some strategies face a far greater hit.

Ethan Xing
15 July 2026
3

Superannuation

Super was built for a very different Australia

Our retirement system was built around assumptions that no longer hold. Lower homeownership, longer lifespans and changing expectations are exposing cracks that policymakers and super funds need to address.

Adam Nettheim
15 July 2026
20

Retirement

Retirement in reality - 4 months in

Many people spend years planning financially for retirement but little time preparing for what comes next. Four months in, here are the surprising lessons I've learnt on finding purpose, social connection and healthy habits.

Dr Joanne Earl
15 July 2026
11

Investment strategies

After the Budget, Australia needs its own definition of quality

As tax reforms reshape investment incentives, investors should rethink what quality investing means in the uniquely concentrated Australian market, where traditional frameworks may not translate as effectively.

Arian Neiron
15 July 2026
1

Datacenters are the new shale oil

Why are tech giants pouring billions into datacentres when the economics look questionable? The most dangerous words in investing may be: "everyone else is doing it". Today's AI boom has striking parallels with the shale bust.

Harris Kupperman
15 July 2026
2

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