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8 January 2025
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All investors understand going 'long', but how does 'shorting' work, and what are some common myths about the impact on markets? Many of our major funds short stocks so it's worth a quick primer on how they work.
Is it more difficult to find stocks to short in a rising market? What impact has central bank dominance had over stock selection? How do you combine income and growth in a portfolio? Where are the opportunities?
Social media, app and trading platforms that drive retail participation also open doors for greater volatility. Ironically, easy money is contributing to market risks, with shorting hit by spiking to the upside.
A fund manager that can short sell stocks with weak investment characteristics while reinvesting the proceeds in long positions in preferred stocks has a high degree of flexibility.
It's as legitimate an investing technique to short sell an expensive company as it is to buy or go long a cheap company, with the added advantage of less competition on the short side.
A simple strategy of backing prior winners and shorting prior losers has outperformed again in 2015, supporting arguments for 'momentum' investing. It's an example of a factor that can be used across a portfolio.
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 Future Fund's original purpose was to meet the unfunded liabilities of Commonwealth defined benefit schemes. These liabilities have ballooned to an estimated $290 billion and taxpayers continue to be treated like fools.
ASFA provides a key guide for how much you will need to live on in retirement. Unfortunately it has many deficiencies, and the averages don't tell the full story of the growing gender superannuation gap.
Unlike family trusts, testamentary trusts are activated posthumously, empowering you to exert post-death control over your assets. Learn how testamentary trusts offer unique benefits and protective measures.
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.