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21 January 2025
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Notwithstanding the popularity of ETFs, Australians are increasingly trading directly on foreign exchanges as online brokers make execution easier. But traditional local names remain popular.
This ease with which retail investors can now invest in Exchange Traded Funds should not disguise the need to follow some simple rules for better execution and improved prices.
A new listed active managed fund is breaking ground with a structure designed to solve the shortcomings of existing listed investment options. It may not be the perfect product for everyone but others will follow.
One benefit of ETFs for investors is their tradability - being able to buy or sell at any time through the ASX just like an ordinary share. But this leads many investors to mistakenly evaluate their liquidity in the same way.
Being a long-term investor isn't always about holding securities for a long time. It's more about being able to make investment decisions that optimise the long-term result.
The surge in popularity of listed investment companies has seen the erosion of the average price discount relative to net assets. Whether a LIC is likely to trade at a discount or a premium should inform your decision to invest.
Portfolio managers and goalkeepers feel the need to do something, but an awareness of this action bias may help them recognise that inaction can be an optimal strategy.
Rising oil prices may sound scary to investors, but if we go beyond the popular myth and look at the facts, we see a very different picture. Rising oil prices are more often accompanied by rising stocks.
There is a potential trading opportunity in every major event, natural or man-made. But whatever you do, it's important to make a positive difference with your life, according to this Australian legend of the hedge fund industry.
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.