Opinion

The ethical investment house believes consumer credit can be positive for society if it is used to buy useful items. But companies like Afterpay focus on impulse purchases that are more likely to push vulnerable Australians into financial over-commitment.

The Treasurer’s plan to limit concessional tax treatment within super at $3 million comes without a lot of the details required for effective retirement planning. Making bold changes now could be costly, says Wattle Partners principal Drew Meredith.

Increased traffic volumes and higher earnings have provided valuation support for the infrastructure company, ClearBridge Investments’ Shane Hurst says, with the post-COVID-19 recovery positioning the business for solid growth.

While commodities proved a safe haven for investors in a brutal 2022, completing a rare two-year run at the top of the asset class returns table, Atchison consultant Kevin Toohey warns against expecting a repeat performance.

Negative-yielding debt topped US$18 trillion at its height in late 2020, representing a quarter of global bonds outstanding at the time. With the stock of negative-yielding bonds now yielding in the positive, owners of the debt face ugly marked-to-market losses – but counter-intuitively, there were investors willing to buy them.

While advisers are not yet seeing substantial client demand for semiconductor and chip stocks, the popularity of the AI chatbot ChatGPT has highlighted opportunities for Australian investors to gain exposure to the surging sector.

Markets have moved sharply to reprice Chinese assets upwards after the world’s second-largest economy signalled its reopening. However, some doubt the sustainability of the current bull market, saying key ingredients for a lasting recovery are missing.

Gold has never held strong investment appeal for SMSFs, despite being seen as a hedge against inflation. With the precious metal beginning a so-far volatile 2023 full of steam, SMSFs looking to preserve capital have several reasons to consider incorporating gold into their portfolios.

Ever since the GFC, interest rates around the world have been on a trajectory to zero, which acted as a proxy tax on investing for retirement for millions. But the current economic is a whole new ball game, writes Drew Meredith.

Australians’ penchant for property investment comes with the caveat that patience is a necessary virtue. This applies doubly so for fretful LRBA holders, writes Nicholas Way.

Australia may have fared better than its international peers, but markets still took a pummelling in 2022, with traditional safe havens and equities alike bearing the brunt in a wildly dislocated market.

Credit and equity markets both suffered a very bad 2022, as the collapse of negative correlation between stock and bond prices left no safe haven for investors. But 2023 could be a big year for bonds, and experts say investors waiting on the sidelines risk missing out.