Reading time: 4 minutes
On 20 April, the WTI oil futures price fell below zero for the first time in history – in other words, traders were prepared to pay buyers to take oil off their hands!
A negative oil futures price is primarily due to the mechanics of the oil futures market,

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Fears around the impact of the coronavirus have been compounded by oil’s woes, causing the biggest falls on Wall Street since the GFC. On Monday, the S&P 500 index fell 7.6%, triggering the first automatic halt in trading in more than two decades,

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Late last month, the Indian Ministry of Finance announced a large reduction in the base corporate tax rate from 30% to 22%, including a preferential tax rate of 15% for new manufacturing investment. The effective tax rate will be cut to ~25% (after surcharges and levies) vs.

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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,

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One of the most common questions I get asked on ETFs relates to liquidity, largely driven by the common misconception that ETFs are somehow illiquid due to the fact that ‘on-screen’ liquidity at times appears limited (particularly compared to popular shares). Even though we have dealt with this area a number of times in other posts,

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The end of the financial year is a time when many investors take the opportunity to review and assess their portfolios. What’s more, many set about attempting to make some positive adjustments for the financial year ahead.
During this period, based upon the interaction we have with investors and their advisers,

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ETFs have been gaining popularity with Australian investors since they first launched on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) nearly 17 years ago. For many SMSF Trustees, ETFs offer a combination of advantages that align well with many SMSF and retirement planning goals. For a number of SMSFs, ETFs can be a particularly useful investment option and can be used in combination with traditional actively managed funds and individual shares.

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After close to a decade of underperformance there are strong indications that 2018 could finally be the turnaround year for the world’s major energy companies. In this post, I provide some reasons why this could be:
The synchronised global growth currently being seen across developed and emerging markets should provide support for oil demand.

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It’s been over 12 months since BetaShares launched a range of ETFs providing Australian investors with exposure to portfolios of sector specific global companies in a single ASX trade.
This suite of funds has been well received by our investors as a simple and low-cost way to access specific investment themes and sectors.

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For a long time, many investors have used ETFs tracking the Nasdaq 100 Index to gain exposure to the world’s technology and internet giants. However, as the ETF market expands, investors are provided with more choices to target specific sectors and investment themes. As such, it is becoming increasingly important for investors to understand the companies in the underlying index to which they are getting exposure – and the tech sector is no different!

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