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Edition: 439

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Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 439 with weekend update

  • 23 December 2021
  • 4

For most investors, 2021 will deliver good performance, with the benchmark All Ords Index rising 10% and the best superannuation funds returning about 12%, and that's before we include house prices. If 2022 is worse, that is part of the deal all equity investors must accept. But there was something else weird and crazy about investing in 2021.

When I’m 64: the year traditional investing looked old

Long gone is the time when investing was only finding traditional value stocks making profits. Now there's Bitcoin, crypto, NFTs, memes, and finfluencers. Among a few winners, much of it will not end well.

Part 2: Hamish Douglass on not swinging for the fences

Markets don't seem normal, but Magellan is criticised for its caution. Higher interest rates to control inflation could create a recession and some of today's investing will turn out a mass delusion of modern history.

Chairman Powell and Omicron: the Grinches who stole Christmas?

Omicron and central bank policy changes have spoiled Christmas, especially for the value of businesses with the most profit growth far in the future. Has the pullback in parts of the global market been overdone?  

Check eligibility for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card

Eligibility for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card has no asset test and a relatively high income test. It's worth checking eligibility and the benefits of qualifying to save on the cost of medications.

Fixed income solutions in a rising rate environment

Floating rate bonds protect investors from capital losses of long-duration fixed income as rates rise. Hybrid structures offer higher yields backed by strong banks issuing on both the ASX and in unlisted OTC markets.

Investment forecasts unreliable in unpredictable times

We use weather forecasts to inform our planning but they do not entirely drive decision making. The same should happen with investment outlooks. A globally diversified portfolio will serve best in unpredictable times.

REIT sectors are different, faced with fundamentals and inflation

REITs come in many forms and the impact of inflation varies by the type of inflation and the REIT subcategory. Some trends, such as the end of 'just in time' and greater power of labour, have a widespread impact.

Most viewed in recent weeks

It’s time for LICs to die

A high-profile dividend cut and a prominent fund manager’s apology have reignited a long-running debate. If investors can access similar exposures more cheaply and efficiently elsewhere, what exactly is keeping LICs alive?

Testamentary trusts survived the trust tax. The drafting battle has just begun.

The fight over testamentary trusts looked settled. Then the draft legislation arrived. Hidden in a technical detail is a question that could force many families to rethink wills they thought were already future-proof.

Is it time to bail on Australian stocks?

For generations, Australian investors have backed banks, miners and dividends. But has that loyalty come at a cost? A look at the numbers raises an uncomfortable question about where future returns will come from.

The new capital gains tax trap for your portfolio

Investors have long accepted one portfolio rule without much question. A major tax shift could change that calculation entirely, forcing difficult trade-offs between risk, discipline and an overlooked cost lurking beneath.

How the typical Australian Family could save $844,350 in taxes

The value of a testamentary trust is not determined by wealth alone. Depending on circumstances, it can reduce the tax burden on inherited income, create efficiencies and help build intergenerational wealth.

The housing slide could become a crash

House prices are sliding across Australia, yet the most dangerous ingredient for a housing crash is still missing. If job losses surge amid growing economic risks, today's correction could become a historic property downturn.

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