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9 May 2024
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The US market has pummelled Australia's over the past 16 years and for good reason: it has some incredible businesses. Australia does too, but if you want to enjoy US-type returns, you need to know where to look.
Many ASX success stories – like JB Hi-Fi, Lovisa, and AUB – have followed one of two strategies: rolling out single store formats nationwide or consolidating fragmented industries. Here are the secrets behind these business models.
The ASX 200 is around the same price that it was 16 years ago. The poor long-term performance can be largely blamed on our taxation system, which encourages companies to pay out most of their earnings as dividends.
Capital growth may disappoint over the next decade, making dividends critical to investor returns. The best stocks will be those that pay consistent, high dividends and are inexpensive.
We are in a new thesis and a regime change. Central banks previously supported asset prices but now the focus is on beating inflation. Investors need new strategies to adapt to the different conditions ahead.
Private equity is attracting ever larger allocations from institutional investors. Russel Pillemer makes a case that all investors should consider the asset class.
Dividend streams tend to be stable and determined by fundamental factors. Unlike capital valuations, which are affected by estimates of prospective returns which are, in turn, strongly affected by market sentiment.
Australians love dividends and complain when a company cuts its payouts. But neither Amazon not Berkshire Hathaway are ever likely to pay a dividend, and it doesn't bother most of their investors.
Investors and financial market professionals underestimate the power of franking credits to enhance returns, especially in pension phase where franking is fully refunded.
While investors like receiving healthy dividends, it's money that the company can then no longer use for capital growth. Less can really be more if there are better growth prospects with lower dividends.
The market has been supplying investors with high dividend-paying stocks, but unfortunately, this focus overlooks better opportunities with more growth and capital appreciation.
There’s nothing quite like receiving cash without having contributed any sweat or labour. But are dividends the best way for companies to reward their investors? What's happened to reinvesting for future growth?
Life has radically shifted with my brain cancer, and I don’t know if it will ever be the same again. After decades of writing and a dozen years with Firstlinks, I still want to contribute, but exactly how and when I do that is unclear.
How useful are the retirement savings and spending targets put out by various groups such as ASFA? Not very, and it's reducing the ability of ordinary retirees to fully understand their retirement income options.
Australia will have 3.7 million more people in a decade's time, though the growth won't be evenly distributed. Over 85s will see the fastest growth, while the number of younger people will barely rise.
The $3 million super tax will capture retired, and soon to retire, public servants and politicians who are members of defined benefit superannuation schemes. Lobbying efforts for exemptions to the tax are intensifying.
Recently, I compiled a list of ASX stocks that you could buy and hold forever. Here’s a follow-up list of US stocks that you could own indefinitely, including well-known names like Microsoft, as well as lesser-known gems.
Debates about retirement tend to focus on the financial aspects: income, tax, estates, wills, and the like. Less attention is paid to the psychological challenges of retirement, which can often be more demanding.