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21 May 2026
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Australian companies worth billions of dollars are slipping into private hands at an alarming rate. This explores what’s driving the takeover binge, why it’s a worry, and what needs to be done to fix the problem.
Many Share Purchase Plans leave large gains on the table for institutions, but some companies are handling them more equitably. As a shareholder, check if your company receives a pass or a fail.
Retail shareholders are being scaled back and diluted by boards and investment banks. If retail shareholders own 30% of a company, the Share Purchase Plan should represent 30% of the overall raising.
A return to indexation of capital gains would be a fairer way to compensate households for the effects of inflation than the current discount. Importantly, it opens the door to future, broader reforms to stop the taxation of inflation.
Australia may not levy formal death duties, but a growing web of tax measures is quietly shaping what wealth passes between generations. Now, the 2026 budget adds another layer.
From oil shocks to fractured alliances, the Iran war carries the hallmarks of a historic policy misstep - one that could tip an already fragile global economy into crisis.
Marketed as a fix for inequality and housing affordability, the latest budget instead delivers a tangle of tax changes that leave everyday Australians worse off.
Copper has had a rough few weeks but investors should not ignore the potential for future price increases as supply increasingly falls behind demand.
The budget’s property tax reforms are being framed as fairness measures, but they risk splitting the housing market, penalising lower‑income investors and introducing distortions that may prove costly.
The vast and opaque world of private assets is a powerful gravitational force - and when trouble hits, it's the more liquid public equities that often the feel it first.