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21 January 2025
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Conservative investors who want the greater capital security of bonds can now lock in 5% but they should stay at the higher end of credit quality. Rises in rates and defaults mean it's not as easy as it looks.
'Sophisticated' investors can be offered securities without the usual disclosure requirements given to everyday investors, but far more people now qualify than was ever intended. Many are far from sophisticated.
Citi research delves into how high net worth investors are feeling in the current market, and how they are investing during the drama of the pandemic. There is plenty of optimism and a willingness to stay invested.
The US inverted yield curve has many worried about whether it indicates a coming recession, but the Fed has moved to a more dovish stance. A diversity of equity and bond exposures is the best way to cope.
The 2016 Investment Trends High Net Worth Investor Report analyses the use of financial advice and a surprisingly steady asset allocation despite changing market forces.
If contribution caps and lifetime limits on superannuation are getting in the way of long-term savings goals, there are other tax-effective alternatives available, especially investment bonds for higher income earners.
In contrast to the way institutions make investment decisions, family offices and high net worth investors display high levels of engagement and often have their unique non-financial objectives to satisfy.
The government has announced changes to the pension asset test and taper rate effective 1 January 2017. While good news for many less affluent recipients, it means wealthier pensioners will receive less, or none at all.
There are important advantages that relatively small investors have over large institutions. Small can be beautiful, even if the big guys can also do well throwing their weight around.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.