Opinion

Investors and SMSF trustees looking to diversify away from low interest rate term deposits in search of fixed income strategies now have greater access to Australian bonds. Bond investing enables investors to diversify income sources and is a defensive strategy to reduce equity portfolio risk. Typically, Australian investors have less invested in fixed income than…

COVID-19 has started a property downturn in Melbourne and Sydney, according to results released by Corelogic. May 2020 property downturn starts CoreLogic Home Value Index results for May showed that five of the eight capital city regions dropped in value. Property transactions had completely dropped off in April 2020 as the restrictions limited property buyers…

This week we take a look at the often misunderstood, bulk retailing business Costco (NASDAQ:COST). Similarly to Woolworth’s (ASX:WOW) the company has performed reasonably well throughout the COVID-19 shutdowns benefitting from hoarding and its business model of offering incredibly low prices for bulk purchases. The company sells all kinds of food, automotive supplies, toys, hardware,…

If any part of the economy is experiencing a sharp, ‘V-shaped’ recovery, it is car use. A number of ASX-listed companies stand to benefit from widespread avoidance of public transport. Macquarie Securities has ‘outperform’ ratings on toll road operators Transurban Group and Atlas Arteria, online automotive classifieds business carsales.com and auto parts and accessories supplier…

As a change of pace, I thought I would touch on one of the more popular investments in recent times, gold bullion. I have personally recommended clients hold gold within balanced portfolios for several years, and they have been rewarded with double-digit returns over the period. Despite its increasing popularity, the yellow metal remains misunderstood…

Superannuation members should be on high alert if using third parties to consolidate or locate their super to ensure the safety of their retirement savings. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), in conjunction with the Australian Tax Office (ATO), has identified a number of advisers, trustees and fund promoters that are marketing consolidation services…

Three reasons why dividend investors may have an opportunity to buy Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) shares at a discount.

Amongst the countless commentaries and headline noise on virus affected financial conditions, it is surprising that environmental, social and governance (ESG) seems to have gained an even stronger foothold. The embrace of such standards does, however, run into the consistent problem in the interpretation of ESG. As more data providers enter the field to compete…

The Reserve Bank has not changed the cash rate since March, when it cut twice, but banks and other deposit takers have been active over the past couple of months trimming at-call and term deposit rates. Investors need to keep on top of how this is impacting their cash holdings. Recent cuts by the big…

Now, this article was a very difficult one for me to write. I must disclose that I have been a non-believer of the Afterpay story from the beginning. I simply could not understand how a modern-day layby business that makes slim margins could be the next Pay Pal or Visa, yet the company has been…

After years of ever-increasing focus on returns to the extent that even fixed income allocations got caught in the vortex, there is a sobering reassessment of the risk profile across a portfolio.

The biggest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, failed to provide investors with any diversification or risk mitigation benefit when equity markets sold off sharply in February and March. Rather, Bitcoin has been tracking the US S&P 500 Index closely for some time. John Vaz, a senior lecturer in the Department of Banking and Finance at Monash University, charted…