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22 January 2025
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Temporary changes to capital raising regulations during the pandemic gave companies easier access to capital. The changes had a lasting impact on company behaviour though, to the benefit of retail investors.
Many Share Purchase Plans leave large gains on the table for institutions, but some companies are handling them more equitably. As a shareholder, check if your company receives a pass or a fail.
Retail shareholders are being scaled back and diluted by boards and investment banks. If retail shareholders own 30% of a company, the Share Purchase Plan should represent 30% of the overall raising.
Watch the many different forms of corporate activity for clues to the way management is thinking about a company’s future and the ways to finance its growth. This can be especially useful for investing in small cap stocks.
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.