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22 July 2024
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As bonds swoon and equities plateau, gold has reached Australian dollar all-time highs, thanks in part to rising geopolitical tensions. Is it too late to buy, or even increase, a gold allocation in a portfolio?
Australian investors have been allocating more to fixed income assets this year. Persistent inflation is a key risk for bonds, and that's where gold can play a diversifying role within an investment portfolio.
Many are comparing Nvidia’s historic run to Cisco Systems in the 1990s. Here is a thought experiment comparing the returns of Cisco since that period to a more conservative alternative, and the results might surprise you.
Asset allocation explains up 70% of total investment returns, making it of critical importance to SMSFs. Here are some guidelines for how they should go about it and the macroeconomic events that could influence allocations.
SMSF investors continue to face inflationary pressure not seen in decades, and it could influence investment performance if the potential effects are not considered. Here's how to inflation-proof your portfolio.
Macroeconomic indicators suggest that the US is in the last stage of the economic cycle with a recession likely by the end of 2023. There are five assets that can help insulate your portfolio if a downturn takes place.
Australian retail investors remain wary of the rising stock market. In fact, they are more defensively positioned than at the height of the Covid crisis, crowding primarily into domestic large cap companies.
Benjamin Graham wrote that everyone should hold between 25% and 75% in equities, with the rest in bonds. That's a big range, but equities give the best long-term returns. The right level is the point where you sleep easy.
As markets whipsaw, the risk that volatility might undermine investors’ ability to achieve their return objectives looms large. What can investors do to mitigate that risk and avoid falling short of their goals?
Since 1980, inflation eroded 81% of purchasing power. $100,000 then can now buy only $19,000 worth of goods and services. The longer money must last, the more we need ‘growth’ assets with inflation protection.
In this environment, safe-haven assets like Government bonds act as a diversifier given the uncorrelated nature to equities during periods of risk-off, while offering a yield above term deposit rates.
Low interest rates have so far not ruffled the 60/40 portfolio, but rising rates mean managers and investors will have to be vigilant to maintain returns while controlling volatility.
There seems to be more confusion than clarity about the mechanics of how the new $3 million super tax is supposed to work. Here is an attempt to answer some of the questions from my previous work on the issue.
Here are 10 rules for staying happy and sharp as we age, including socialise a lot, never retire, learn a demanding skill, practice gratitude, play video games (specific ones), and be sure to reminisce.
A new report suggests Australian housing is twice as expensive as that of the US and UK on a price-to-income basis. It also reveals that it’s cheaper to live in New York than most of our capital cities.
The discounts on listed investment vehicles are at historically wide levels. There are lots of reasons given, including size and liquidity, yet there's a better explanation for the discounts, and why a rebound may be near.
The best way to lose money in markets is to chase the latest stock fad. Conversely, the best way to build wealth is by pursuing a timeless investment strategy that won’t be swayed by short-term market gyrations.
The life expectancy tables used throughout the financial advice and retirement industry have issues and you need to prepare for the possibility of living a lot longer than you might have thought. Plan accordingly.