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31 December 2024
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Underpinning the current wave of consolidation amongst Australian super funds is the belief that it helps to be big. Is this really the case and is there any advantage in being a member of a large super fund?
As market uncertainty continues, it is more important than ever to have a sound investment process. To help with a long-term focus, it may be useful to have some guidelines to fall back on when the market noise gets too loud.
Is bigger better for super funds? APRA certainly thinks so as it pushes for more mergers but what might members be losing from a more personal touch? Veteran journalist Greg Bright explains events at Media Super.
Anyone investing in media must understand the momentous change and disruption underway. During a span of just 21 days, US$85 billion of M&A centred on video games, which is now bigger than the movie industry.
Companies always boast the synergies and growth prospects of acquisitions, but dig a little deeper with these questions and you might see why most of these deals fail to add value when finally bedded down.
Fairfax and Nine together will not magically produce a great company. The business models of newspapers and free-to-air TV are compromised by giants in digital and media industries, and viewing habits have changed.
Well-executed mergers and acquisitions can add material shareholder value, but there are plenty of examples where they destroy value, and in the worst cases, jeopardise the entire company.
Hostile takeover battles can produce heated disputes between company directors, managers and shareholders. What’s in the company’s long term interests and who decides? Does shareholder activism aid or hinder?
When analysing the latest takeover offer, these timeless country music lyrics come to mind. Because each situation is different, you'll need to know whether to accept the offer, hold out for more, or just dump and run.
In 2013, M&A market confidence returned and we are already seeing an increase in deal activity this year. However, investors should watch closely to ensure that over-confidence doesn't get in the way of value creation.
There are reasons why small cap stocks have a history of long term outperformance, although recently, the preference for defensive large cap yields has dominated.
It’s with heavy hearts that we announce Firstlinks’ co-founder and former Managing Editor, Graham Hand, has died aged 66. Graham was a legendary figure in the finance industry and here are three tributes to him.
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.
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.
A triple headwind has seen Australia's biggest LIC swing to a 10% discount and scuppered its relative performance. Management was bullish in an interview with Firstlinks, but is the discount ever likely to close?