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Building a lazy ETF portfolio in 2026 Australian stocks will crush housing over the next decade, 2025 edition Get set for a bumpy 2026 Meg on SMSFs: First glimpse of revised Division 296 tax Property versus shares - a practical guide for investors

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Edition: 373

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Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 373

2 September 2020
1

It was a milestone for strange times last week when the company with the longest record in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) index, ExxonMobil, once the largest company in the world, was replaced by a software company, Salesforce. Only one company in the original DJIA exists today. As businesses are disrupted, how many of the current DJIA companies will disappear in the next decade or two?

Everything my friends need to know about investing

Thomas Philips
2 September 2020
21

Based on a long investing career, the author sets out his beliefs without attempting to justify them here. Readers can agree or disagree. It's his guide for friends and family with an actionable variation for risk appetite.

SMSFs and COVID: the biggest trends in 5 charts

Emma Rapaport
2 September 2020
2

COVID-19 pushed many SMSF trustees to change their asset allocation, but some of the adjustments are surprising. In the GFC, there was a surge of new SMSFs as investors lost confidence in fund managers to protect them.

Retirement adequacy: COVID means we need to work longer

Nick Callil, Erinn Cullinane
2 September 2020
8

The amount in super available at retirement is highly individual. Early withdrawals, working longer, extra contributions and work history determine if someone can maintain a desired lifestyle with the funds available.

What we don't know: five strategies for uncertainty

Peter Moussa
2 September 2020
2

While pundits make forecasts every day, Charlie Munger admits he has no idea where COVID-19 will lead us. Investors need to understand what we don't know and adapt their portfolios accordingly.

To speculate or not to speculate

Robin Bowerman
2 September 2020
3

More retail investors than ever are speculating on the stock market, driven to FOMO by the success of others. Here are five rules which have stood the test of time rather than hoping speculation works.

China and US ‘decoupling’ likely to be mild

Michael Collins
2 September 2020
3

The latest iteration of globalisation is forming. Western consumers will face reduced choice and higher prices and global production networks will be less efficient. But the US and China also need each other.

Red pill or blue pill? Navigating the matrix of fixed income

Mark Mitchell
2 September 2020

Government bond yields are so close to their lower bounds that they are unlikely to provide the returns of the past, nor act as a counter to falling equity markets. What are the investment choices?

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Property versus shares - a practical guide for investors

I’ve been comparing property and shares for decades and while both have their place, the differences are stark. When tax, costs, and liquidity are weighed, property looks less compelling than its reputation suggests.

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