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22 January 2025
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Mastering irrelevancy in retirement, what the reporting season means for analysts, the dilemma facing Greece, the dangers of high-yield stocks to fund retirement, and SMSF compliance issues when purchasing assets.
Relevancy, as long as we maintain it, is rewarding on almost every level. But what happens when we lose it? As we get older, we need to master irrelevancy, the exact opposite of what we’ve spent a lifetime pursuing.
Reporting season is hard work for equity analysts, especially when a company's results differ from the expected. It's also a time for a company to outline its strategy and gauge the reaction of its owners, the fund managers.
Modern Greece faces an ancient dilemma: should it sail within reach of Scylla, the sea monster that lives in Brussels, to avoid Charybdis, the ‘sucking whirlpool’ that is the return of the drachma?
High yielding stocks are often seen as the silver bullet for retirement plans. But in many circumstances the focus on income overlooks the need to consider return and risk in any investment decision.
The superannuation law allows SMSFs to borrow under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement to acquire an asset, but if multiple assets are involved, like a property on more than one title, things can get complicated.
In defending how superannuation concessions might favour the wealthy, Treasurer Joe Hockey claimed 50% of all income tax is paid by 10% of the working population. Is that statement supported by the data?
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.
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.
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.
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.