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Home / Author: John Abernethy

John Abernethy

A big win for bank customers against scammers

A recent ruling from The Australian Financial Complaints Authority may herald a new era for financial scams. For the first time, a bank is being forced to reimburse a customer for the amount they were scammed.

What's left unsaid in Australia's housing bubble

The current difficulties confronting housing policy partially stem from an explosion of mortgage debt. We've engineered a price for housing that will cause a severe problem for future generations – if it isn't addressed.

Clime time: Do budget deficits create inflation?

There's nothing wrong with budget deficits if they are appropriately set for a desired economic outcome. But it does require a breakaway from dogmatic economic thought that seems rife among economists and politicians.

Clime time: Taxing unrealised capital gains – is there a better idea?

The efficacy and fairness of establishing an unrealised gains tax regime will hopefully be hotly debated at the next election. We need better ideas on how to use the strategic and unique benefits of our massive super funds.

Clime time: 10 charts on the outlook for major asset classes

The charts reveal that interest rates can't rise much further as Australian mortgage holders are under stress, bank dividends look solid, and the bond market is in flux because yields are being manipulated.

Clime time: Tailwinds for asset prices in 2024 and beyond

Inflation is yesterday's issue and markets have started to reflect that. ASX prospects look positive with consumption growth, tax cuts, infrastructure investment, and a Chinese recovery to flow through to corporate earnings.

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Retirement

How inflation is quietly moving the goalposts on retirement

Inflation doesn’t just raise today’s bills - it quietly increases the amount needed to retire, while simultaneously making it harder to save. Three steps to take before June 30th to improve retirement outcomes.

Investment strategies

Three strategies for investing amid AI whiplash

AI fears have shifted from bubble talk to disruption anxiety, driving investors toward asset-heavy, 'AI-resistant' businesses while punishing many software and service firms. This environment may be ripe for stock pickers.

Investment strategies

Are private market assets the answer in an unstable world?

Private markets can offer diversification and return potential, but their opacity, scale and wide dispersion of outcomes make manager selection and due diligence critical for non‑institutional investors.

Property

Mispriced in plain sight: The case for Global REITs

Global REITs have fallen out of favour, trading at deep discounts after years of underperformance, despite resilient earnings and improving fundamentals.

Investment strategies

Survival is the only success

True financial success isn’t about how much you make, but whether you can sustain it — survival is the only win that matters.

Investment strategies

$42 billion too late

Why Australia's biggest energy bet may already be redundant while a less celebrated government program is exceeding expectations. 

Investment strategies

Do investors accept lower returns from assets that make them feel good?

Assets that deliver emotional satisfaction tend to offer lower financial returns, as investors accept an “emotional yield” in place of performance which shapes how investors approach ESG and unpopular assets.

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