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25 January 2025
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The demise of defined benefit funds, diversification's past, Australia's default and managing sovereign debt, finding good quality for good value and APRA's recommendations for bank lending practices.
Defined benefit funds will be scarce in the future but their features shouldn't be forgotten. Defined contribution funds should be incorporating some of these features to their members' advantage as well their own.
Follow diversification's past, present and future in this three-part series. Part one takes us from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice to the classic strategic asset allocation pie chart used throughout the investing world today.
Very few people realise that Australia once defaulted on its sovereign debt during the Great Depression. Learn how the split between local and foreign currency debt affects the policy options available to Governments.
Value investing is much more than simply buying cheap stocks. The quality of a company is extremely important and there are three key elements you should consider that will help sort the good from the bad.
APRA's residential mortgage lending guidelines aim to reduce default rates, while making banks more secure and borrowers less stressed. Has APRA gone far enough and will banks risk losing business as a result?
Graham is currently enjoying the buzz and excitement that has taken over Brazil for the FIFA World Cup. He took some time out to write this postcard to give us a look behind the football.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.