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22 January 2025
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Control the urge to sell in panic, CAPE over share markets, SMSF action now but should you have one, home and aged care traps, resource companies.
It's surprising how different Australian superannuation is to other developed countries, when asset management is a global industry. Why are we different and which counties have it right?
What is it about shares that most investors want to buy as they become more expensive, then sell when the price falls? We don't do that with other goods. There are four main choices when reacting to a market fall.
The widely-used cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratio (CAPE) is at historic and relative highs in the US. The co-inventor of CAPE, Robert Shiller, is advising not to give too much weight to US equities.
It's fashionable to have an SMSF, and at barbecue talk, it goes well with the new car, private school, investment property and overseas holiday. But who should really have one?
The implications of the superannuation reforms did not end in 2017, and SMSF trustees should stocktake what they can do, especially focussing on the CGT and the unique definition of retirement for super.
Home Care Packages have undergone significant reforms recently, and the waiting list for such packages is growing. Advisers and their clients need to keep abreast of what those changes mean for them.
Aged care is a specialist subject, but financial advisers need to have strategies for their clients before it is left to a family member to step in with different views on affordability and what standard of care is needed.
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.