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31 October 2025
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It's been a golden period for investing for those willing to take some risk. Australia has experienced six straight years when everything went up, and this has never happened before in history.
In 1993, researchers in the US studied the phenomenon of winning stocks continuing to outperform losing stocks. Using both long and short positions one could theoretically outperform the market on a regular basis.
Elroy Dimson maintains the most comprehensive collection of global asset class data (from 1900) and is a leading authority on the history of financial markets. We find out how the numbers inform his own views on investing.
Obviously it’s best to sell high and buy low, but in the irrational world of stock markets, the past may offer little guide to the future. The most we can realistically expect is to learn how to tilt the odds in our favour.
Future returns from different asset classes are always uncertain and subject to contrary forecasts, but there are useful lessons from the past. As Shakespeare wrote in The Tempest, "What is past is prologue."
The arithmetic mean of the annual returns of the ASX/S&P200 since 1980 is 13.9% per annum, while the geometric mean is 11.6% per annum. This is an annual 2.3% gap. Which returns have you been watching?
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?
In any year since 1875, if you'd invested in the ASX, turned away and come back eight years later, your average return would be 120% with no negative periods. It's just one of the must-have stats that all investors should know.
Five mega trends point to risks of a more inflation prone and lower growth environment. This, along with rich market valuations, should constrain medium term superannuation returns to around 5% per annum.
Whether for yourself or a family member, it’s never too early to start thinking about aged care. This looks at the best ways to plan ahead, as well as the changes coming to aged care from November 1 this year.
Labor has caved to pressure on key parts of the Division 296 tax, though also added some important nuances. Here are six experts’ views on the changes and what they mean for you.
If you need income then buying dividend stocks makes perfect sense. But if you don’t then it makes little sense because it’s likely to limit building real wealth. Here’s what you should do instead.