Register For Our Mailing List

Register to receive our free weekly newsletter including editorials.

Home / 338

Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 338

  •   1 January 2020
  •      
  •   

We start the new year with some previous highlights. Chris Cuffe has selected his favourite articles from 2019, and our free ebook collates 30 of my interviews with leading global and local financial markets experts.

Who picked it in 2019?

Hardly anyone expected the massive 2019 equity market rally, and showing the difficulty of the forecasting game, consider the top three stockmarkets for 2019. First, Russia up 39%, despite US sanctions and illiquid markets. Second, Greece up 38%, subject to an IMF bailout amid a financial crisis a few years ago, when we were told nobody pays their taxes. Third, Ireland up 25%, with its exposure to Brexit and EU doubts. So much for investors hating uncertainty and geopolitical risks. The best commodity was palladium and the strongest currency among 130 tracked by Bloomberg was the Ukrainian hryvnia. Who knew? We have White Papers on 2020 outlooks here and here for those planning their portfolios for the new year.

30 interviews with investing experts from around the world

Even after my four decades in this business, these chats were full of new discoveries. For example, it was fascinating to meet a few times in California with Nobel Laureate, Harry Markowitz, the father of Modern Portfolio Theory. He was the first to specify assembling a portfolio based on maximising expected returns from assets for a given level of risk. He described to me his 'moment of truth', the time he went 'aha!'.

Article highlights from 2019

On Chris's selections, the leading subject in the first half of the year was Labor's franking credits policy, which generated over a thousand responses across many articles. The Coalition is still savouring its win on this policy (Goldstein is Tim Wilson's electorate):

Chris mainly focusses on articles which raised issues we will continue to debate in coming years. In addition to these 2019 highlights and the ebook, Lex Hall provides a selection of summer reading for those relaxing over January, as well as a short video on 2019 highlights and 2020 prospects. Plus for anyone who missed two popular articles, we rerun the OK Boomer 'fess up' and the summary of the fruitless search for yield without risk.

 

Graham Hand, Managing Editor

For a PDF version of Chris Cuffe's favourite articles from 2019, click here.

 

  •   1 January 2020
  •      
  •   

 

Leave a Comment:

banner

Most viewed in recent weeks

The growing debt burden of retiring Australians

More Australians are retiring with larger mortgages and less super. This paper explores how unlocking housing wealth can help ease the nation’s growing retirement cashflow crunch.

Warren Buffett's final lesson

I’ve long seen Buffett as a flawed genius: a great investor though a man with shortcomings. With his final letter to Berkshire shareholders, I reflect on how my views of Buffett have changed and the legacy he leaves.

LICs vs ETFs – which perform best?

With investor sentiment shifting and ETFs surging ahead, we pit Australia’s biggest LICs against their ETF rivals to see which delivers better returns over the short and long term. The results are revealing.

13 ways to save money on your tax - legally

Thoughtful tax planning is a cornerstone of successful investing. This highlights 13 legal ways that you can reduce tax, preserve capital, and enhance long-term wealth across super, property, and shares.

Why it’s time to ditch the retirement journey

Retirement isn’t a clean financial arc. Income shocks, health costs and family pressures hit at random, exposing the limits of age-based planning and the myth of a predictable “retirement journey".

The housing market is heading into choppy waters

With rates on hold and housing demand strong, lenders are pushing boundaries. As risky products return, borrowers should be cautious and not let clever marketing cloud their judgment.

Latest Updates

Interviews

AFIC on the speculative ASX boom, opportunities, and LIC discounts

In an interview with Firstlinks, CEO Mark Freeman discusses how speculative ASX stocks have crushed blue chips this year, companies he likes now, and why he’s confident AFIC’s NTA discount will close.

Investment strategies

Solving the Australian equities conundrum

The ASX's performance this year has again highlighted a persistent riddle facing investors – how to approach an index reliant on a few sectors and handful of stocks. Here are some ideas on how to build a durable portfolio.

Retirement

Regulators warn super funds to lift retirement focus

Despite three years under the retirement income covenant, regulators warn a growing gap between leading and lagging super funds, driven by poor member insights and patchy outcomes measurement.

Shares

Australian equities: a tale of two markets

The ASX seems a market split in two: between the haves and have nots; or those with growth and momentum and those without. In this environment, opportunity favours those willing to look beyond the obvious.

Investment strategies

Dotcom on steroids Part II

OpenAI’s business model isn't sustainable in the long run. If markets catch on, the company could face higher borrowing costs, or worse, and that would have major spillover effects.

Investment strategies

AI’s debt binge draws European telco parallels

‘Hyperscalers’ including Google, Meta and Microsoft are fuelling an unprecedented surge in equity and debt issuance to bankroll massive AI-driven capital expenditure. History shows this isn't without risk.

Investment strategies

Leveraged single stock ETFs don't work as advertised

Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver some multiple of an underlying index or reference asset’s return over a day. Yet, they aren’t even delivering the target return on an average day as they’re meant to do.

Sponsors

Alliances

© 2025 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer
The data, research and opinions provided here are for information purposes; are not an offer to buy or sell a security; and are not warranted to be correct, complete or accurate. Morningstar, its affiliates, and third-party content providers are not responsible for any investment decisions, damages or losses resulting from, or related to, the data and analyses or their use. To the extent any content is general advice, it has been prepared for clients of Morningstar Australasia Pty Ltd (ABN: 95 090 665 544, AFSL: 240892), without reference to your financial objectives, situation or needs. For more information refer to our Financial Services Guide. You should consider the advice in light of these matters and if applicable, the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before making any decision to invest. Past performance does not necessarily indicate a financial product’s future performance. To obtain advice tailored to your situation, contact a professional financial adviser. Articles are current as at date of publication.
This website contains information and opinions provided by third parties. Inclusion of this information does not necessarily represent Morningstar’s positions, strategies or opinions and should not be considered an endorsement by Morningstar.