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30 December 2025
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Which companies have been the best performers on the ASX over the past 20 years, and what characteristics made them special? A new report looks at the keys to their success, and the lessons for investors going forward.
After the hyperbolic rise in CBA shares, super funds are floating the idea of carving out the weightings of ASX bank securities and indexing them within their portfolios. This looks at why that might be a big error.
The dominance of mega-cap stocks in the US has led to strong index performance and a new wave of passive investors. Australia's markets might not be so suited to this approach.
The ASX 200 is around the same price that it was 16 years ago. The poor long-term performance can be largely blamed on our taxation system, which encourages companies to pay out most of their earnings as dividends.
Everyone appears negative on the outlook for consumer discretionary spending and that's been reflected in the share prices of ASX-listed retailers. The chance to buy quality retailers at cheap prices has arrived.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is one of the most concentrated sharemarket indices in the world. Equal weighted indices can offer an alternative and have historically outperformed their market capitalisation counterparts.
In 2020, new investors were keen to build wealth in the sharemarket and were actively investing to ‘buy the dip’. But as markets have rallied to new highs amid Covid doubts, investing patterns have changed.
In reporting season, companies must deliver their results and many issue guidance for the next year. The response often send prices up or down and the market may make swift and not well-considered decisions.
Looking back over the last decade shows the factors which have driven success for some companies and failure for others, driven by falling interest rates, a lower Aussie dollar and technology changes.
About half of companies reported as expected in their latest financial results, and the rest were split between favourable and disappointing. Valuations are not cheap but some companies deserve to be expensive.
Retirement isn’t a clean financial arc. Income shocks, health costs and family pressures hit at random, exposing the limits of age-based planning and the myth of a predictable “retirement journey".
The superannuation system has succeeded brilliantly at what it was designed to do: accumulate wealth during working lives. The next challenge is meeting members’ diverse needs in retirement.
Two years ago, I wrote an article suggesting that the odds favoured ASX shares easily outperforming residential property over the next decade. Here’s an update on where things stand today.
I am a professional real estate investor who hears a lot of opinions rather than facts from so-called experts on the topic of property. Here are the largest myths when it comes to Australia’s biggest asset class.
In an interview with Firstlinks, CEO Mark Freeman discusses how speculative ASX stocks have crushed blue chips this year, companies he likes now, and why he’s confident AFIC’s NTA discount will close.
It might not be quite an ‘everything bubble’ but there’s froth in many assets, not just US stocks, right now. It might be time to stress test your portfolio and consider assets that could offer you shelter if trouble is coming.