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Home / Author: Ashley Owen

Ashley Owen

Economic growth and equity return outlook

Surely it's a truism that economic growth, earnings growth and growth in stock prices are directly related. When you look over the last three decades, the real world appears quite different.

Global stock markets in 2013

A pictorial look at how the main developed and emerging stock markets fared in a post-GFC world, with an unfashionable conclusion. Which countries came out on top, and which were best avoided?

Introduction to the Market Monitor

Cuffelinks has added a new monthly feature, the 'Market Monitor', a review of economic conditions in major global markets plus an estimate of long term value across a wide range of asset classes.

Equities deliver high returns and low volatility - again

As we near the end of 2013, it looks like this year has been a repeat of 2012 for shares in the major developed world stock markets - high returns plus super-low volatility.

Australia joins the PIIGS

Australian 10 year bond rates, once yielding 5% less than PIIGS countries Italy and Spain, are now trading at the same rates. Surely we are not squealing down at their level.

In Macau, new Asian money and Australian property

For many Asian families, getting money into safe haven countries often takes precedence over what to do with the money when it gets there. This year the hot fad was Australian residential property.

Latest Updates

SMSF strategies

Meg on SMSFs: What do we think about reversionary pensions these days?

Reversionary pensions have long been a staple of SMSF estate planning, but are they still the best option? Meg Heffron revisits a once-clear favourite and asks whether changing super rules have shifted the balance.

The ageing ‘crisis’ has not and will not happen

Rising age dependency is frequently treated as a warning sign for economies. But when actual workforce participation is examined, a strikingly different picture emerges about ageing, productivity and economic sustainability.

Retirement

How does the 4% rule stack up?

The 4% rule has long been retirement's gold standard. But after a difficult period for investors, fresh analysis suggests a more conservative approach may significantly improve the chances of making savings last.

Shares

Four charts that expose market concentration risk

Investors have recently been rewarded for backing market leaders, but history suggests this eventually comes at a cost. Now may be the time to review whether your portfolio is carrying unintended risks beneath the surface.

Investment strategies

The case for gearing beyond property

Most Australians gear into property but ignore shares. That may be a mistake. Used carefully, geared equity strategies can enhance long-term returns, reduce cash tied up in growth assets and support retirement income goals.

Economy

Australia's $1 trillion debt pile

The headlines exclaiming that Australian government debt has hit A$1 trillion and US government debt has hit $40 trillion has turned heads, but how serious are they really? Will Australia's mix of debt create challenges?

Economy

Has 100 years of growth made us any happier?

For decades, GDP has been the benchmark for economic success, but has it made us materially happier? If happiness does not rise in lockstep with prosperity, are we overlooking what constitutes a successful society?

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