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16 September 2025
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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.
Equity indices have evolved over time, led by step-changes in our ability to manipulate data. Despite the rise of passive investing, they weren't initially meant to be investment tools.
The S&P 500 has become an increasingly concentrated index, with the returns of the top seven stocks far outpacing the average stock in the index. History suggests the next decade will see a reversal of this pattern.
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.
A surprisingly small number of stocks usually drive index performance, and active managers who miss these few companies can struggle to perform and justify their active fees.
Non price-weighted index investment strategies, commonly dubbed 'smart beta', are growing in popularity, but as one fund can be structured differently from the next, are there any features to watch out for?
Index and asset allocation specialists, Research Affiliates, have tested a theory they call the ‘Rip van Winkle’ approach. It uses a cap-weighted index portfolio drawing the data from 20 years earlier to prove a point.
Each generation believes its economic challenges were uniquely tough - but what does the data say? A closer look reveals a more nuanced, complex story behind the generational hardship debate.
Australia could unlock smarter investment and greater equity by reforming housing tax concessions. Rethinking exemptions on the family home could benefit most Australians, especially renters and owners of modest homes.
This goes through the different options including shares, property and business ownership and declares a winner, as well as outlining the mindset needed to earn enough to never have to work again.
Everyone has a theory as to why housing in Australia is so expensive. There are a lot of different factors at play, from skewed migration patterns to banking trends and housing's status as a national obsession.
The creator of the 4% rule for retirement withdrawals, Bill Bengen, has written a new book outlining fresh strategies to outlive your money, including holding fewer stocks in early retirement before increasing allocations.
This AI cycle feels less like a revolution and more like a rerun. Just like fibre in 2000, shale in 2014, and cannabis in 2019, the technology or product is real but the capital cycle will be brutal. Investors beware.