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22 January 2025
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It's that time of year when investors sell underperforming stocks at a loss to offset capital gains from profitable investments. This tax-loss selling is creating opportunities in three quality ASX stocks.
Of all the questions facing an investor, when to sell is perhaps the hardest. Unlike with the decision to make an investment, selling it requires you to undo something you have invested intellectual, emotional and financial capital.
Many investors sell because they think the stockmarket will fall, with the intention of reinvesting. It requires two correct timing decisions but what signals will prompt a reinvestment? It's harder than it looks.
We assume share trading platforms are alike other than the cost of brokerage, but do you know if prices are live, who owns your shares and what you earn on cash? The few brokerage dollars you save can be eaten away.
The Government hailed the Early Access Scheme as a great success, but Australians should not have withdrawn super to meet their obligations. Economic stimulus and a secure social safety net should provide for them.
Among the share success stories is a poor personal experience as Telstra's service needs improving. Plus why the new budget announcements on downsizing and buying a home don't deserve the super hype.
When we think about investing, we think about buying. The intricacies of the selling decisions are frequently overlooked, and poor selling is correlated to a lack of conviction. Selling is as important as buying.
Afterpay listed at $1 in 2016 and traded recently at $70. How should an investor treat a small holding in a 70-bagger when each new level defies the experts? Should true believers let the profits run?
The selling of shares by company directors is not necessarily a sign for other investors to follow, but research into Australian sales seems to be a stronger signal than directors' buying.
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.