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15 January 2025
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Models, statistics, historical data and forecasts can paint a picture of the average investor, but just who is average? Financial planning and investment decisions need to consider the individual.
Sit through a dozen fund manager presentations and they all start to sound the same. There's been little significant innovation in the managed funds industry in the last 15 years. Why is this and what are the consequences?
Auction clearance rates are often quoted as a barometer of the health of the residential real estate market, but do they really reflect what is happening after the bidding stops?
Future returns from different asset classes are always uncertain and subject to contrary forecasts, but there are useful lessons from the past. As Shakespeare wrote in The Tempest, "What is past is prologue."
We cannot afford to ‘make things up as we go along’. We need a plan that addresses short, medium and long term goals, and we need to take action to address those goals now, not later.
If you are between 55 and 59 years old, the merit of a transition to retirement pension depends on a complex set of variables. But it is worth doing the numbers.
The renowned investor has penned his first investor letter for 2025 and it’s a ripper. He runs through what bubbles are, which ones he’s experienced, and whether today’s markets qualify as the third major bubble of this century.
The housing market was subdued in 2024, and pessimism abounds as we start the new year. 2025 is likely to be a tale of two halves, with interest rate cuts fuelling a resurgence in buyer demand in the second half of the year.
The scheme has not been updated since it was established and is no longer fit for purpose. Members now find themselves disadvantaged in several important ways versus those in other superannuation funds.
AI has helped markets to new highs and rightly dominated news headlines. Yet there are other themes, including niche ones such as gene editing, which are also expected to drive investment returns over the next decade.
Investors need to be more discerning this year as headline valuations are high and the economic cycle turns. Dig a little deeper, though, and there are big opportunities in overlooked shares with strong tailwinds.
Debt recycling is a powerful strategy for those juggling the seemingly competing goals of debt reduction and building an investment portfolio. Yet it's often misunderstood because it isn't just a single strategy.
Globally, nuclear power is gathering momentum as a differentiated power source in the energy transition to zero carbon emissions. Yet in Australia, a nuclear ban remains, making us an outlier among our Western Allies.