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27 February 2026
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Australia boasts one of the world's highest dividend yielding sharemarkets, providing substantial benefits to investors and retirees. Despite this, individuals often stretch for even more yield, to their detriment.
Getting regular, growing income from stocks is tougher with the dividend yield on the ASX nearing 25-year lows. Here are some conventional and not-so-conventional ideas for investors wanting to build a dividend portfolio.
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.
The structure of many dividend ETFs leads to lacklustre or non-existent dividend growth. Balancing high yields with long-term dividend growth is essential for effective income investing.
After a hiatus last year, growth stocks are back in vogue as investors search for the 'next big thing'. That makes today's market environment unusually rich in attractive, high dividend-yielding companies.
After years in the doldrums, Australia’s telecommunications industry is improving as pricing becomes more rational. Telstra is the dominant player and should be a key beneficiary of the industry's rising fortunes.
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.
A check on price chart action for dozens of favourite tech stocks shows how dramatic the rises and falls have been. Where to from here? There's better value but profits need to remain strong or prices will fall.
The current yield on a share or trust is simply the latest dividend divided by the current share price, an abstract number at a point in time. What really matters is the income delivered in the long run.
Investing in equities for their dividends and income is not as easy as it sounds. High dividend stocks are more volatile and the dividend is not a sign of quality or value. Take care chasing yield.
While franking credits attached to Australian equity dividends can be a meaningful source of extra returns, a deliberate tilt towards franking can also introduce significant unwanted risks into the portfolio.
Australian companies have a long and frustrating history of wasting billions of dollars of capital on overseas dreams, and institutional investors should be taking a harder line to protect their capital.
The renowned investor says 2025’s real story wasn’t AI or US stocks but the shift away from American assets and a collapse in the value of money. And he outlines how to best position portfolios for what’s ahead.
The post-World War Two economic system is unravelling, leading to huge shifts in currency, bond and commodity markets, yet stocks seem oblivious to the chaos. This looks to history as a guide for what’s next.
Our cost-of-living pressures go beyond the RBA: surging house prices, excessive migration, and expanding government programs, including the NDIS, are fuelling inflation, demanding bold, structural solutions.
The capital gains tax discount is under review, but debate should go beyond its size. Its original purpose, design flaws and distortions suggest Australia could adopt a better, more targeted approach.
A more rational taxation system that supports home ownership but discourages asset speculation could provide greater financial support to first home buyers.
This is my last edition as Editor of Firstlinks. I’m moving onto a new role though the newsletter will remain in good hands until my permanent replacement is found.