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29 December 2025
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Reining in the Government's appetite for spending wouldn't just ease the country's fiscal burden. It would also clear the way for the meaningful tax reforms that are needed to boost Australia's ailing productivity.
With fixed term deposit rates declining and bank hybrids being phased out, what are the best options for investors seeking income? This goes through the choices, and the opportunities and risks involved.
Debt recycling is a powerful strategy for those juggling the seemingly competing goals of debt reduction and building an investment portfolio. Yet it's often misunderstood because it isn't just a single strategy.
Capital growth may disappoint over the next decade, making dividends critical to investor returns. The best stocks will be those that pay consistent, high dividends and are inexpensive.
Taking a 'total return' approach rather than focussing only on income allows investors to build portfolios in line with their goals and risk tolerance using rebalancing back to their target asset allocation.
The simple message to diversify is not new, but thousands of SMSF trustees focus only on equities and dividends. COVID-19 is encouraging SMSFs to consider different investment strategies.
The search for income and cash flow by people relying on their investments has never been more difficult, so it's worth understanding both the opportunities and the overall context.
The role of a portfolio manager changes when normal opportunities become constrained. Flexibility and diversification in seeking alternatives in new markets is vital to adapting.
The current yield on a share or trust is simply the latest dividend divided by the current share price, an abstract number at a point in time. What really matters is the income delivered in the long run.
In seeking additional income, some type of market risk must be taken to earn above the 2% on term deposits. The listed market now offers a vast array of alternatives not available even a couple of years ago.
Many ‘baby boomer’ retirees contemplating decades of retirement prefer a sustainable lifestyle based on a steady income that keeps up with inflation. New perceptions of risk are required to meet such income demands.
Whilst the latest cut in the target cash rate to 2.25% is a positive move for equity investors, it's a negative for savers, especially retirees living off the income generated by their term deposits.
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.