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21 January 2025
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Heard the word, cakeism? As in, 'having your cake and eating it too'. The Reserve Bank wants to simultaneously fight inflation by taking away spending power, while not driving the economy into a recession. If you want to help, stop buying stuff.
While ETFs and passive funds continue to attract flows, the move in the June 2022 quarter is to Australian equities and fixed interest. Local investors have reduced the impact of larger falls in global markets.
There have been regular falls in real house prices in the past. Some of the 40% gains of 2020 to 2021 will be given back now but housing is a long-term investment and fundamentals are likely to remain strong.
If we knew we'd live to 100, we’d pace ourselves differently. Instead of 'learn-earn-burn' where the young study, the middle-aged work, and the old volunteer or rest, life’s path would have on-ramps and off-ramps.
Treasury has conducted a post-implementation review of the banning of stamping fees paid by product issuers to brokers and advisers. The Australian Shareholders' Association does not support the banning.
Averages provide the central value in a data series but provide no window into variation. Every market drawdown, financial crisis and recession is different, and market cycles only end when excesses are corrected.
Australians are underestimating the impact of a third Omicron wave, and with a severe flu season, hospitals will struggle over coming weeks. Governments will avoid lockdowns but we will need mask mandates.
While some investors struggle to find reasons to invest in gold, others see its different characteristics and role in a diversified portfolio of investments. In times of uncertainty, where does gold stand?
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.