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21 January 2025
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Racehorse investing and breeding, recession patterns, updating your investment philosophy, effects of pension reforms and the benefits of low turnover funds.
According to the ATO, SMSFs only hold 0.5% of their portfolios in global shares, despite the institutional average being over 20%. A closer look at the ATO data sources reveals that this statistic is most unreliable.
Less than half of today's workforce has experienced a proper recession, but in the absence of serious reform and vision, Australia may break its 25 years of economic growth.
Ben Graham’s brilliant investment insights have served investors well since the 1940s, including Buffett. But many companies are different today and it makes sense to update and move on.
Under the current pension reforms, changes to the asset test taper, which are designed to reduce the entitlement of part-pensioners, will also hit ‘downsizers’ and people moving into aged care hard.
In Australia, fund manager performance is most often assessed on pre-tax returns. But a low portfolio turnover can potentially provide better after-tax returns relative to a high turnover actively managed fund.
Before you jump in and invest in that racehorse with its potential Group 1 winnings and breeding credentials, here is a reality check on your dreams of fame and fortune from someone in the know.
Joe Hockey made strong statements on super reform this week: "Superannuation policy is incredibly complex ... So adding to the complexity by laying on new additional changes is daft."
Last year, I wrote an article suggesting returns from ASX stocks would trample those from housing over the next decade. One year later, this is an update on how that forecast is going and what's changed since.
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 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.
This examines the performance of key asset classes and sub-sectors in 2024 and over longer timeframes, and the lessons that can be drawn for constructing an investment portfolio for the next decade.
Key lessons include expensive stocks can always get more expensive, Bitcoin is our tulip mania, follow the smart money, the young are coming with pitchforks on housing, and the importance of staying invested.
Check out the most-read Firstlinks articles from 2024. From '16 ASX stocks to buy and hold forever', to 'The best strategy to build income for life', and 'Where baby boomer wealth will end up', there's something for all.