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21 January 2025
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The new Labor Cabinet is sworn in and ministers are moving into their offices, and immediately, the lobbyists come knocking, representing clients who 'pay-to-play'. Plus cash rate falls in 2023, EOFY checks and market weakness.
Individual investors think professionals have ‘smart money’ advantages enjoyed on the inside. While some perks are worthwhile, others are a rort, and overall, it's easier to invest with the freedom of ‘small money’.
Meg gives her top five tips before 30 June 2022 for SMSF trustees and anyone actively managing their super. It's easy to overlook these steps, and one in particular could handsomely increase your super balance.
Commercial real estate still offers good yield pickups versus bonds, but some sectors are better positioned than others. What types are resilient in the face of rising inflation and interest rates?
It was a joy ride while it lasted but the free money era could not last. The consequences of the misallocation of capital into poor companies is now playing out and shareholders face billions of dollars in losses.
A check on price chart action for dozens of favourite tech stocks shows how dramatic the rises and falls have been. Where to from here? There's better value but profits need to remain strong or prices will fall.
Some conglomerates include hidden assets that the market is not valuing properly. It may take a demerger to show their worth and there are good reasons why these work. How do investors identify the best demergers?
To add to the world's problems, high inflation is exposing Europe's frailties and poorer nations have no independent monetary policies to help their economies. Core problems cannot always be kicked down the road.
Claims that Bitcoin has characteristics of 'digital gold' by protecting against equity market falls in troubled times are not supported by recent price moves. Crypto relies on supporters pumping up speculative gains.
Chris Cuffe reminds us about a charitable-giving structure allowing a full tax deduction now even if the donation is spread over future years. Elsewhere, make sure you are not converting capital to taxable income.
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.