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21 January 2025
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MFS chief investment officer and CEO elect Ted Maloney talks market risks, similarities between Trump and Harris, and the most important thing investors can do to avoid destroying value.
In a recent interview, Morningstar CEO Kunal Kapoor explains why low-cost investing wins, how artificial intelligence and ESG will bring lots of opportunities, and why distractions are an investor's worst enemy.
Former RBA Governor Ian Macfarlane says our economy has held up well given the sharp spike in interest rates. He thinks that economic strength plus high inflation mean rates are more likely to go higher than lower in 2024.
Traditionally, equity income funds buy high-dividend companies but earnings growth should be a key component of an investment strategy. Receiving income from selling call options compensates for the lower dividends.
Every fund is measured against a benchmark, but active managers earn their fees by taking strong views contrary to an index. It requires fortitude in the short term as interviews with Orbis and Allan Gray show.
A collection of interviews with financial markets experts on investing, superannuation, retirement and other topical issues, as published by Firstlinks over 2021 and 2022.
Value investing relies on a fundamental assessment of the intrinsic worth of a company, based on risk and reward. Time has come for the more stable sectors such as the Utilities, Health Care or Consumer Staples.
Investing in Asia is challenging but with younger populations, many countries face less wage and inflation pressures than the West. Buying the index rarely pays off as it's more about finding the winning companies.
When a business that manages funds worth three times the entire Australian superannuation system enters the market, it's a sign of yet more change coming to the sector. How do its plans fit into a long-term strategy?
On any given day, whether the stockmarket rises or falls is a coin toss, but stay invested for 10 years and the odds are excellent. It's at times of market selloffs that opportunities present for long-term investors.
Barry Lambert’s lessons apply not only to business, but to life and are an insight into the behavioural differences which make founder-led companies a special hunting ground for investors.
Commercial real estate still offers good yield pickups versus bonds, but some sectors are better positioned than others. What types are resilient in the face of rising inflation and interest rates?
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.