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David Bassanese

Is passive investment outperformance merely cyclical?

Active managers on average struggle to outperform market indexes, but do they provide added protection from losses during down markets? And which index should we focus on?

How Italy’s looming constitutional referendum could be ‘Brexit Mark 3’

No sooner have global markets digested the Brexit decision and the election of Donald Trump as US President, another risk event now looms on the horizon: Italy’s constitutional referendum on December 4.

Central banks have lost the plot

Aggressive and sustained policy actions by central banks in the wake of the GFC are threatening the stability of global economies and pushing investors towards higher-risk investment options.

Chasing yields is paying dividends

With the cash rate now at 1.5%, the margin between dividend yields and interest rates is at historical highs. However, payout ratios are high and forward earnings growth is subdued.

The investment case for Europe

Australian investors may be wary of the European share market with Greece and Brexit in the news, but there's a good investment and diversification case, with access now made easier by Europe equity ETFs listed on the ASX.

Fundamental indexing over the cycle

Fundamental indexing is now well-established in Australia, but has recently underperformed cap-weighted indexes. What is the longer-term outlook and rationale?

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Ranking three common retirement strategies

The defining challenge of retirement isn't just about building wealth, it's about converting your lifetime savings into sustainable income. A holistic understanding of different strategies can improve long-term outcomes.

Economy

Was life really better in the good old days?

Are we worse off than previous generations? Lately, there seems to be a heightened level of angst that economic conditions are getting harder and that the two-party political system (and maybe democracy too) is failing voters.

Retirement

Australia has saved $4.5 trillion for retirement. Here's what matters more

Most Australians approaching retirement can tell you the exact dollar value of their super account. But success depends on more than a sizeable balance. Here's four key questions to ask yourself at the start of the financial year. 

Who gains in an AI-supercharged economy?

AI is already reshaping the economy, but companies building transformative technologies rarely capture the greatest long-term value. Instead, those benefits accrue to the users. We may well see this pattern reproduced. 

Taxation

Div 296's million-dollar reset worth $25,000

The 'cost base reset' for the new super tax is being sold as protection for pre-July gains. A worked example shows $1M of protection is worth about $25,000, and the real deadline has not passed.

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The forecasting fix that Wall Street missed

Asking whether markets are overpriced may be the wrong question. New research suggests that traditional valuation metrics used to forecast returns may have been misread. Here are five takeaways for investors.

Investment strategies

Should a fund manager invest their own money differently?

Investors often like the idea that fund managers should invest client money exactly as they invest their own. But reality is more complicated. Unique circumstances make a different approach rational and, at times, beneficial.

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