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8 October 2025
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Far from an outdated relic, Torrens title appears to be the revolutionary, cheap, low-risk way to handle property dealings. Here's a look at why this Australian invention from the 1850s hasn't caught on more widely.
A recent ruling from The Australian Financial Complaints Authority may herald a new era for financial scams. For the first time, a bank is being forced to reimburse a customer for the amount they were scammed.
Cryptocurrency advocates are in total denial that their war against fiat currency has ended. FTX’s downfall should prove the final straw as the the world is moving on from crypto mania and it'll be better off for it.
We are publishing this anonymously knowing it comes from an impeccable source. Bernie Madoff’s fund was almost distributed to retail Australian investors a year before the largest-ever hedge fund fraud was exposed.
When a company fraud is uncovered there are many losers, and companies are not run to benefit bondholders. The main protection against such unforeseeable risks is to maintain a well-diversified portfolio.
A cautionary tale to remind us that the authentic-looking email from that authentic company we deal with may not be friendly at all. This is what a ransomware virus can do after a moment's lack of care.
Part 2 focusses on the criticisms that are often levelled at hedge funds and how to manage these disadvantages to your level of tolerance. The challenge for the hedge fund industry is to deliver more retail-targetted products.
The risk of internal fraud is a commercial reality of doing business, but how does a financial institution manage the optics of a low risk appetite and still communicate the message to employees that it is not ‘open slather’?
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.
An explosion in low-skilled migration to Australia has depressed wages, killed productivity, and cut rental vacancy rates to near decades-lows. It’s time both sides of politics addressed the issue.
LICs are continuing to struggle with large discounts and frustrated investors are wondering whether it’s worth holding onto them. This explains why the next 6-12 months will be make or break for many LICs.
Australian housing’s 50-year boom was driven by falling rates and rising borrowing power — not rent or yield. With those drivers exhausted, future returns must reconcile with economic fundamentals. Are we ready?
Younger Australians think they’ll need $100k a year in retirement - nearly double what current retirees spend. Expectations are rising fast, but are they realistic or just another case of lifestyle inflation?
This week, I got the news that my mother has dementia. It came shortly after my father received the same diagnosis. This is a meditation on getting old and my regrets in not getting my parents’ affairs in order sooner.