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5 February 2025
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Packed with GFC lessons, industry funds thrilled, Royal Commission secrets, invest like instos, ‘value’ struggles, bonds, retirement worry, microcaps.
This brief history of the GFC and the lessons we should learn is a reminder that similar events will happen again at some stage, and this time we have no excuse not to be ready.
About half of companies reported as expected in their latest financial results, and the rest were split between favourable and disappointing. Valuations are not cheap but some companies deserve to be expensive.
Financial adviser education, training and legislating ethical standards will help improve 'best interests' practices, but what about adviser experience? This important quality is near impossible to regulate.
Investment solutions that were once only available to the big end of town are now available to anyone willing to learn the same lessons, research the available products and try some new approaches.
The Royal Commission has severely damaged the reputations of many retail funds. While the CEO of the peak body for industry funds is not complacent, battles have been won.
The past few years have seen strong performance for Momentum and Growth strategies but poor outcomes for some with a Value bias. But is Value really due for a comeback as many people are arguing?
Bond investing is not only buy and hold and traditional return sources such as income, changing yields and duration. Relative value identifies market inefficiencies and uses risk management techniques in all market conditions.
The financial concerns of those in or close to retirement are focussed on health and housing. Lower interest rates, rising healthcare costs and lifespan uncertainty legitimately compound those concerns.
Microcap managers have the potential to outperform their indexes by picking undiscovered stocks which do exceptionally well, but it can work the other way. Variability of manager performance is a sector feature.
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.
While encouraging people to draw down on their accumulated wealth in retirement might be good public policy, several million retirees disagree because they are purposefully conserving that capital. It’s time for a different approach.
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.
Getting regular, growing income from stocks is tougher with the dividend yield on the ASX nearing 25-year lows. Here are some conventional and not-so-conventional ideas for investors wanting to build a dividend portfolio.
2024 was a banner year for equities, with a run-up in US tech stocks broadening into a global market rally, and the big question now is whether the good times can continue? History suggests optimism is warranted.