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29 January 2026

Home / Leverage

Leverage

1-12 out of 16 results.

Leveraged single stock ETFs don't work as advertised

Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver some multiple of an underlying index or reference asset’s return over a day. Yet, they aren’t even delivering the target return on an average day as they’re meant to do.

A contrarian bet on Magellan Financial Group

Despite recent woes, Magellan offers deep value at current prices. Almost half of its equity value is investments, including cash, and there's significant  potential upside from its investments in Barrenjoey and Finclear.

We need to limit retail investor harm from CFDs

A Contract for Difference (CFD) is a highly-leveraged investment used for speculative and gambling activities by retail investors without the knowledge to take such risks. ASIC is struggling to control the product.

Are bond yields lower forever or is the Big Bang coming?

The signs are that bond yields could stay low for a long time. This has important implications for future returns, but are we heading for the Big Bang, the Big Crunch or the Steady State?

The role of financial markets when earnings are falling

Everything is rising in value because there is excess capital chasing too few opportunities. Capital should be allocated more responsibly with a focus on the future cash flow from a company.

Welcome to the Great Australian Deleveraging

The biggest concern that many analysts ignore is that, after house prices begin falling, the savings ratio climbs, reflecting a lack of consumer confidence, leading to a rapid slowdown in the economy.

Will the Royal Commission end our debt obsession?

The tightening of credit conditions for home lending driven by the Royal Commission has not fully translated into aggregate statistics, and the slowdown may already be worse than we realise.

Bankers must realise they are fiduciaries

The fiduciary duty of banks, while not legislated, is implied by their central role in the economy. Bank deposits are accepted as 'money', and public confidence in banks is fundamental to a functioning economy.

Defaulting into a world without growth

Global debt levels have increased significantly over the last decade, but not to fund new businesses or productive assets. When debt funds growth and growth fuels debt, can we continue to push the problem into the future?

Mortgage funds: if only we had a trendier name, like P2P

Mortgage funds still suffer from the poor reputation earned during the GFC, and are not well supported by investors. When the asset is a first registered mortgage over real property, some structures are worth a look.

Financial leverage in real estate: friend or foe?

Financial leverage is already built into many real estate funds and companies, and borrowing even more to invest can produce spectacular results - on both the upside and the downside.

Is a debt bonfire building?

Findings from three recent seminal papers highlight the rapidly growing levels of debt across the world, which at some time is likely to impact future investment returns and economic growth. Are you prepared?

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Building a lazy ETF portfolio in 2026

What are the best ways to build a simple portfolio from scratch? I’ve addressed this issue before but think it’s worth revisiting given markets and the world have since changed, throwing up new challenges and things to consider.

Get set for a bumpy 2026

At this time last year, I forecast that 2025 would likely be a positive year given strong economic prospects and disinflation. The outlook for this year is less clear cut and here is what investors should do.

Meg on SMSFs: First glimpse of revised Division 296 tax

Treasury has released draft legislation for a new version of the controversial $3 million super tax. It's a significant improvement on the original proposal but there are some stings in the tail.

Ray Dalio on 2025’s real story, Trump, and what’s next

The renowned investor says 2025’s real story wasn’t AI or US stocks but the shift away from American assets and a collapse in the value of money. And he outlines how to best position portfolios for what’s ahead.

10 fearless forecasts for 2026

The predictions include dividends will outstrip growth as a source of Australian equity returns, US market performance will be underwhelming, while US government bonds will beat gold.

13 million spare bedrooms: Rethinking Australia’s housing shortfall

We don’t have a housing shortage; we have housing misallocation. This explores why so many bedrooms go unused, what’s been tried before, and five things to unlock housing capacity – no new building required.

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