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24 December 2024
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Consensus expectations have finally centered on a long-term outlook characterised by tepid growth and inflation, but there is risk that a cyclical rebound in economic fundamentals could cause a market repricing, ultimately mistaking ‘the trend for the cycle’.
As we head into the end of the year, many parents are thinking about the onset of school fees and how to afford them.
The e-commerce giant’s entry into the Australian market has been a constant source of discussion for several months, and the likelihood of a large disruption for our local retailers appears to have already been priced in.
The essential service nature and large environmental footprints of infrastructure assets make sustainability considerations a vital part of doing business.
A large part of the return from investing in emerging market assets comes from currency exposure. However, Australian dollar investors typically lose out on this due to the economic links between Australia and Asia, and the impact of changes in commodity prices.
It’s been over 12 months since BetaShares launched a range of ETFs providing Australian investors with exposure to portfolios of sector specific global companies in a single ASX trade.
SMSFs primarily invest in three asset classes – cash, domestic shares and direct property. Commentators often suggest that home bias – a behavioural trait of investors who disproportionately prefer more familiar domestic assets – is responsible for the lack of international asset holdings in SMSFs.
How should an investor allocate across active and passive investments? It’s a challenging decision with many components. In the absence of a structured decision-making process, investors are left making arbitrary decisions based on implicit assumptions.
The Australian ETF industry grew by over $1 billion this month, with the industry rising to a fresh record high Total industry funds under management at the month end was $32.0 billion, a growth rate of 3.5% or $1076 million for the month.
Starting and running an SMSF can be a great way to build wealth for the future, but it also comes with some serious responsibilities.
Despite small gains in balances, investment returns will be lower for longer and many SMSFs are further away from achieving their retirement goals than previously.
Australian investors, as young as 18, are turning to the sharemarket in record numbers to build their wealth, according to new data released by nabtrade.
It’s with heavy hearts that we announce Firstlinks’ co-founder and former Managing Editor, Graham Hand, has died aged 66. Graham was a legendary figure in the finance industry and here are three tributes to him.
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.
Australia is in the early throes of an intergenerational wealth transfer worth an estimated $3.5 trillion. Here's a case study highlighting some of the challenges with transferring wealth between generations.
The Future Fund's original purpose was to meet the unfunded liabilities of Commonwealth defined benefit schemes. These liabilities have ballooned to an estimated $290 billion and taxpayers continue to be treated like fools.
ASFA provides a key guide for how much you will need to live on in retirement. Unfortunately it has many deficiencies, and the averages don't tell the full story of the growing gender superannuation gap.
The Big Four banks have had an extraordinary run and it’s left income investors with a conundrum: to stick with them even though they now offer relatively low dividend yields and limited growth prospects or to look elsewhere.