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Home / Author: Ashley Owen

Ashley Owen

Asset class performance and lessons in 2017

It's been a golden period for investing for those willing to take some risk. Australia has experienced six straight years when everything went up, and this has never happened before in history.

Ashley Owen
1 January 2018

IPOs, information asymmetry and house prices

When it comes to company floats or IPOs, sellers know much more about the business than buyers, so before getting caught up in the euphoria of a new listing, consider what it is they know that you don’t.

Ashley Owen
7 December 2017
2

Stock market winners 10 years on

The intuition is that stock markets should perform in line with an economy's GDP, but a look at the last decade shows little relationship, and perhaps the opposite is more accurate.

Ashley Owen
30 November 2017
6

My four enduring lessons from the 1987 crash

We are not in the heady market conditions of 1987 at the moment, but the biggest problem facing investors will be the urge to panic sell after a major fall, similar to the desire that drives buying at the top.

Ashley Owen
2 November 2017
8

Are bank deposits and gold safe havens?

Continuing our look at 'safe havens', gold and bank deposits are often considered alternatives to 'risky' shares. How have they performed in times of stress, and do they rate as long-term investments at other times?

Ashley Owen
19 October 2017
8

Are shares a long-term safe haven?

The short-term volatility of share prices, and the rapid falls which hit markets every 15 years or so, disguise the wealth creation effects of share investments over a long-term horizon.

Ashley Owen
15 October 2017
2

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Latest Updates

Fixed interest

Higher yields are creating opportunities in global bonds

Bond markets are adjusting to a new reality, but not in the ways investors expect. With markets repricing and capital competing for attention, investors may need to rethink where resilience and opportunity lie.

Eric Souders
7 October 2026

Economy

Are we in a recession?

What if the warning signs are already everywhere? From supermarket aisles to company failures, investors are being bombarded with recession signals. But most face a different risk that can be just as dangerous for portfolios.

Shani Jayamanne
7 October 2026
1

SMSF strategies

Meg on SMSFs - Division 296 actuarial certificates

The tax bill might be yours, but the event that caused it may not be. A key Division 296 calculation can sometimes attribute earnings in ways that many SMSF trustees won't instinctively expect or fully appreciate.

Meg Heffron
7 October 2026
1

Property

The first impact of negative gearing reform is not the tax bill

Negative gearing changes formally begin in 2027, but the first consequences may already be here. A subtle shift is quietly influencing who can borrow, how much they can access and which property strategies still stack up.

Jade Xie
7 October 2026
1

Economy

The oil market is running out of easy answers

The biggest threat to markets may not be what investors are watching. The numbers have stopped adding up and supply is harder to measure, with forecasts becoming simple guesses. A more fragile reality is being masked.

Damien Klassen
7 October 2026

Investment strategies

The state of investor knowledge in Australia

Australians are investing more than ever, yet a surprising divide is emerging between those building wealth effectively and those making costly mistakes. Surprisingly, the gap has little to do with income, age or starting capital.

Alex Zaika
7 October 2026

Taxation

Complexity and capital gains

A case study shows that the ‘30% minimum CGT’ is a poorly conceived tax that adds significant complexity to an already over-complex system. A less complicated model would create a much fairer progressive tax scale.

Jim Bonham
7 October 2026
2

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