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20 August 2026
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Optimism continues to lift markets, but geopolitical tension, policy uncertainty and AI’s capital demands mean investors may need greater selectivity and patience.
Quality strategies shine globally, but Australia's concentrated market tells a different story. Limited diversification and sector dominance can constrain the defensive outcomes investors have seen in broader markets.
The conditions which made the major banks the default trade for a generation of Australian investors have all reversed simultaneously. What replaces them is a market that rewards earnings durability over index weight, and pricing power over passive ownership.
While the quality factor has delivered strong, defensive outcomes globally, its effectiveness in Australia is more nuanced due to its smaller size and concentration by stock and sector.
Stability is on edge as conflict, inflation, rates and valuations continue to unsettle the global economy. For patient investors, this new regime may create opportunities that reward more selective exposures.
With gold miners demonstrating operating leverage, bond markets anticipating a muddle through, and small companies outperforming, explore the opportunities and risks ahead in global markets.
Treasury’s latest CGT reform draft delivers a win for testamentary trusts and deceased estates, exempting estate-derived gains from the 30% floor. However, questions on death and divorce rollovers remain unresolved.
Average super balances are one of the most misleading benchmarks. They ignore your goals, spending and future needs, creating a false sense of security. Here is how I calculate exactly where I need to be at every decade.
Most people spend decades planning how to retire. Far fewer plan for what comes next. The biggest retirement challenge isn't always financial, and it often catches even the most prepared retirees completely off guard.
Most Australian portfolios are concentrated in large caps, with relatively little exposure to smaller companies. But what if the biggest risk isn't the economy, interest rates or valuations? For many, the risk is hidden in plain sight.
Many investors remain concentrated in shares, cash and property. Despite their popularity among institutional investors, real assets remain underrepresented in many SMSF portfolios. Could they be the missing piece?
Investors spend decades learning how to stay invested, yet few have a plan for getting out. When a financial goal has a hard deadline, a worked example shows why a fixed derisking schedule should outrank buy-and-hold discipline.
Why have active managers struggled as passive investing has surged? Research suggests that flows into index funds and ETFs are creating structural headwinds, penalising the stock-picking strategies that once generated alpha.