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5 January 2026
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Staying the course isn’t always easy for investors, but looking at how markets perform over time places the current market in context.
Research on Australian attitudes and approaches to investing, shows that while half think about their financial future and lifestyle almost daily, 70% don’t have a financial plan. The report explores Australians’ financial education, investments approach and future outlook.
In a reversal from the past ten years, Vanguard expects value to outperform growth over the next ten-year period by as much as 5% to 7% per year, and perhaps by even more over the next five years.
Investor portfolios built on a dividend-focused strategy will need to be 100% allocated to equities and greatly elevate their portfolio risk, to meet most income needs in the current low yield environment.
The continued development of strategies to harvest factor returns in a low-cost manner has effectively raised the bar for many managers.
While short-term market conditions tend to grab headlines, it’s the long-term story that really counts. As Vanguard's Index Chart shows, while markets fluctuate on a daily basis, asset values have steadily increased over the last 30 years.
At this time last year, I forecast that 2025 would likely be a positive year given strong economic prospects and disinflation. The outlook for this year is less clear cut and here is what investors should do.
Much has been made of how US markets, especially the NASDAQ, have significantly outperformed the ASX over the past two decades. History suggests the pendulum will swing back once again in Australia's favour.
What is the X-Factor - the largely unexpected influence that wasn’t thought about when the year began but came from left field to have powerful effects on investment returns - for 2025? It's time to select the winner.
What is progress? Is it GDP growth? Increasing wealth? New and improving technology? This argues that our measure of progress has become warped, and we're heading backwards rather than forwards.
Summer is a great time to catch up on a good book. Here is a list of books on leadership, investing, and well-being for those looking to learn, reflect, and gain inspiration over the holiday season.