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2 February 2026
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Your opinions on Hayne, how to retain income after Labor franking, global ETFs, check your fund manager, Aussie deleveraging, 3 tech worries, HYSay.
An excellent response rate gives a good sample of the attitudes of our readers to the Royal Commission's recommendations. We also include some written comments in the responses.
The survey on the Royal Commission included hundreds of comments on what it overlooked. To give a perspective on how our readers felt about the results, here is a large sample.
A reader has asked for the simplest possible explanation of dividend imputation and franking, as the heated debate features many people who do not understand the basics.
Investors whose income may be hit by Labor's franking credits proposal can reallocate away from fully franked dividends to other investments to maintain their income, but it will involve different risks.
Investors do not ask enough questions of their fund managers before they commit money. It's worth at least knowing whether a long-term view is taken rather than the easier road of jumping in and out of markets.
The biggest concern that many analysts ignore is that, after house prices begin falling, the savings ratio climbs, reflecting a lack of consumer confidence, leading to a rapid slowdown in the economy.
In the US, ETFs represent about 16% of the entire managed fund space, but in Australia, it is only 1.5%. With many strategies available including Active ETFs, the growth outlook is strong.
We may be close to 30 billion connected devices, offering unlimited investment opportunities, but a technology backlash is being fuelled by fear and uncertainty around three burning issues.
What are the best ways to build a simple portfolio from scratch? I’ve addressed this issue before but think it’s worth revisiting given markets and the world have since changed, throwing up new challenges and things to consider.
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.
Treasury has released draft legislation for a new version of the controversial $3 million super tax. It's a significant improvement on the original proposal but there are some stings in the tail.
The renowned investor says 2025’s real story wasn’t AI or US stocks but the shift away from American assets and a collapse in the value of money. And he outlines how to best position portfolios for what’s ahead.
The predictions include dividends will outstrip growth as a source of Australian equity returns, US market performance will be underwhelming, while US government bonds will beat gold.
We don’t have a housing shortage; we have housing misallocation. This explores why so many bedrooms go unused, what’s been tried before, and five things to unlock housing capacity – no new building required.