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21 January 2025
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Housing impact of Labor’s negative gearing policy, Reserve Bank on cash and climate, getting out of Australia, Howard Marks, home equity, ESG, bonds.
Labor's proposed policies on negative gearing and capital gains may come at a time when residential property is already weak, and it's unlikely to make buying a property easier for first-home buyers.
Negative gearing makes it hard for renters to become home owners. Now would be a pain-free time to wind it back.
Although some domestic cyclical companies currently offer value, the attraction of offshore growth is a key factor for investors, including strong Australian companies with global aspirations.
Howard Marks distills a lifetime of investing into his new book, and perhaps as a sign that he has really mastered the market cycle, he has just sold a majority stake in Oaktree to Brookfield.
Using the value of home equity built up over many years seems an obvious part of retirement planning, but reverse mortgages have been unsuccessful in Australia. Is it time for a fourth pillar of retirement income?
There is no single and correct way for a company to adopt good ESG practices, but it's clear that major institutional investors are increasingly judging companies by ESG criteria.
ETF users are younger and female, attracted to responsible investing, global equities and fixed income, as the sector continues to evolve rapidly. It will probably exceed $50 billion soon.
We like a good debate, and when two opposing views argued about the role of government bonds in a diversified portfolio, a veteran of 30 years in fixed interest stepped in as referee.
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.