Reading time: 5 minutes Video: Quick highlights Asset Class Performance – global equities power on Global equities were the best performing of our seven major asset classes* in April, while Australian equities also posted good returns.  Supporting stocks was a better than feared US earnings reporting season, persistent low inflation and continued gradual improvement in

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Reading time: 4 minutes The proposed removal of franking credit rebates that is part of the ALP’s election policy has been an ongoing point of discussion over the last 12 months. Irrespective of debate around the upcoming election or the form any rule changes may ultimately take, a central issue for many investors is how

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The recent pull back in global equity markets has tended to fall most heavily on growth orientated stocks, which have also run the hardest in recent years.  Given the maturing global equity bull market, this suggests it might be opportune to consider a tilt towards more value orientated stocks, as is possible through fundamentally-weighted indexing

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Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have become popular investment options in recent years for Australian investors. An ETF is an open-ended fund which is bought or sold on the sharemarket just like any share and is generally designed to track the performance of an asset class or sector. They are known for their low management fees,

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Many people tend to look at long-term investing as something that they would want to consider or action ‘one day’, but seldom do they realise that the first step to a long-term strategy can be taken today. A new movement called the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement is well underway, picking up momentum as

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There have been enough debates, discussions and deliberations on what drives human behaviour. Theories have evolved and schools of thought have been devoted to the study of human motivation. Still, ages after Henry Ford designed the famous moving assembly line for manufacturing cars after studying people at work, although the studies of psychology and sociology

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The decision by major banks over recent weeks to unilaterally raise interest rates on residential property loans, especially for investors, appears to be officially sanctioned and could helpfully ease demand pressures in the Sydney and Melbourne housing markets. That said, greed can be good! These actions could also conveniently help boost bank net-interest margins, which

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Since bottoming in February last year, and especially since the election of Donald Trump as US President, the Australian equity market has posted good gains, with the S&P/ASX 200 now within striking distance of the psychological 6000 level.  This post assesses both the technical and fundamental challenges facing the market. All up, the analysis suggests that

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