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25 January 2025
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Markets benefitted from peace for 40 years, but a military resurgence is now underway, fuelled by geopolitical tensions and technological advancements. Defence spending is soaring, offering potential opportunities for investors.
Investors are exposed to so much information that it’s often hard to filter the good from the bad. This looks at how to tell the difference between the two and the best sources of investment writing and advice.
The new tax on super over $3 million brings alternatives into play for tax efficiency. For investors who can be bothered juggling different types of pools, there are ways to avoid the tax on unrealised gains.
Buy-Write funds sell options to generate extra income but it means they may give away some of the upside potential. During periods of market weakness and a need for more income, is the time right for this strategy?
Common investor habits are selling when the market falls, worrying about others, a fear of running out of money and losing patience with a fund. Here are strategies and investments to manage these foibles.
The current bank turmoil should not be a GFC-type event, although the risk of tightening credit conditions is real. Volatile markets are an opportunity to buy strong, growing companies trading at attractive valuations.
Charlie Munger is famous for applying different 'mental models' to get an edge in markets. In this vain, here's a look at how ecological niches can be applied to stock markets and may help you become a better investor.
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.
Many new investors make common mistakes while learning about markets. Losses are inevitable. Newbies should read more and develop a long-term focus while avoiding big mistakes and not aiming to be brilliant.
While ETFs and passive funds continue to attract flows, the move in the June 2022 quarter is to Australian equities and fixed interest. Local investors have reduced the impact of larger falls in global markets.
Recent history has been spectacularly good for most asset classes but there is a the colossal gap between fundamentally-based forecasts of stockmarket returns over the next 5-10 years and investor expectations.
The Listed Investment Company structure is under siege, but for the right type of asset and manager, it still carries strong appeal. Every LIC should review whether it has a genuine reason to exist in this form.
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.
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.
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.
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.
2024 was a banner year for equities, with a run-up in US tech stocks broadening into a global market rally, and the big question now is whether the good times can continue? History suggests optimism is warranted.
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.