Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 659

Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 659

Following the day-to-day news on Iran is frustrating. There appears to be scant progress on the vaguely defined war aims or a pathway to lasting peace. According to the Wall Street Journal this frustration is ironically shared by President Trump who seems unable to accept that he can't just bend the Iranians to his will. What is becoming clearer is the ...
2 billion reasons to fix retirement income

2 billion reasons to fix retirement income

Australia has a well-regarded superannuation system. What we do not have is a retirement income system. These are not the same thing — and the gap between them is costing Australians billions of dollars a year. In a new paper, we propose a change to how superannuation works as members approach the drawdown phase. The result would be higher balances for ...
Not much alpha left in this bet

Not much alpha left in this bet

Alphabet's Google changed the game of advertising as Google's seamless integration of ads into its search engine revolutionized relevance and efficiency in online advertising. Google, with its Page Rank innovation and capital-light model, became a dominant force in its industry. Alphabet now faces a shift from nimbleness toward an infrastructure-heavy ...
Five simple reasons why Australian cash rates are highest

Five simple reasons why Australian cash rates are highest

This is one of the most common investor questions I receive from advisers, and it is one of the easiest to answer. It’s fairly simple. Australians suffer the highest cash rates amongst their rich country peers (chart A) because Australia has: The highest inflation rate (chart B), The highest medium-long-term inflation expectations ie highest treasury ...
Double down on renewables?

Double down on renewables?

Volatility is the new world order it seems. Whether it’s a pandemic or warfare, with associated supply shocks, we should now almost always expect rolling uncertainty. The ongoing war in Iran has exposed Australia’s dependency on importing hydrocarbons, which has opened up vigorous debate as to how we deal with this. There are those who say we need to ...
Private Credit headwinds move onshore

Private Credit headwinds move onshore

Before the conflict’s commencement, the financial market’s main worry was the rise of AI tools and the potential implications for software companies, with substantial declines in their equity valuations being a painful experience for many investors. In being large lenders to the software space, US private credit funds have also been caught up in the ...
Five reasons unlisted commercial property is an attractive allocation in uncertain times

Five reasons unlisted commercial property is an attractive allocation in uncertain times

In this era of heightened geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, portfolio construction increasingly favours assets capable of delivering durable income, capital preservation, and differentiated return drivers. Unlisted Australian commercial property continues to demonstrate qualities that may support these characteristics. The immediate backdrop ...
Australia Institute on gaslighting; risky flood proposal; GetUp and Hanson; STH BNK by Beulah

Australia Institute on gaslighting; risky flood proposal; GetUp and Hanson; STH BNK by Beulah

If you want to read an astounding recap of Australia’s history on gas, how we signed away long term contracts to Japan meaning Australia now has to buy gas on the hugely higher global spot market you need to take a look at this succinct and alarming report from the ABC. What were those government agencies thinking?  Now a Nationals senator decided to ...

Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 659

Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 659
Following the day-to-day news on Iran is frustrating. There appears to be scant progress on the vaguely defined war aims or a pathway to lasting peace. According to the Wall Street Journal this frustration is ironically shared by President Trump who seems unable to accept that he can't just bend the Iranians to his will. What is becoming clearer is the ...

2 billion reasons to fix retirement income

2 billion reasons to fix retirement income
Australia has a well-regarded superannuation system. What we do not have is a retirement income system. These are not the same thing — and the gap between them is costing Australians billions of dollars a year. In a new paper, we propose a change to how superannuation works as members approach the drawdown phase. The result would be higher balances for ...

Not much alpha left in this bet

Not much alpha left in this bet
Alphabet's Google changed the game of advertising as Google's seamless integration of ads into its search engine revolutionized relevance and efficiency in online advertising. Google, with its Page Rank innovation and capital-light model, became a dominant force in its industry. Alphabet now faces a shift from nimbleness toward an infrastructure-heavy ...

Five simple reasons why Australian cash rates are highest

Five simple reasons why Australian cash rates are highest
This is one of the most common investor questions I receive from advisers, and it is one of the easiest to answer. It’s fairly simple. Australians suffer the highest cash rates amongst their rich country peers (chart A) because Australia has: The highest inflation rate (chart B), The highest medium-long-term inflation expectations ie highest treasury ...

Double down on renewables?

Double down on renewables?
Volatility is the new world order it seems. Whether it’s a pandemic or warfare, with associated supply shocks, we should now almost always expect rolling uncertainty. The ongoing war in Iran has exposed Australia’s dependency on importing hydrocarbons, which has opened up vigorous debate as to how we deal with this. There are those who say we need to ...

Private Credit headwinds move onshore

Private Credit headwinds move onshore
Before the conflict’s commencement, the financial market’s main worry was the rise of AI tools and the potential implications for software companies, with substantial declines in their equity valuations being a painful experience for many investors. In being large lenders to the software space, US private credit funds have also been caught up in the ...

Five reasons unlisted commercial property is an attractive allocation in uncertain times

Five reasons unlisted commercial property is an attractive allocation in uncertain times
In this era of heightened geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, portfolio construction increasingly favours assets capable of delivering durable income, capital preservation, and differentiated return drivers. Unlisted Australian commercial property continues to demonstrate qualities that may support these characteristics. The immediate backdrop ...

Australia Institute on gaslighting; risky flood proposal; GetUp and Hanson; STH BNK by Beulah

Australia Institute on gaslighting; risky flood proposal; GetUp and Hanson; STH BNK by Beulah
If you want to read an astounding recap of Australia’s history on gas, how we signed away long term contracts to Japan meaning Australia now has to buy gas on the hugely higher global spot market you need to take a look at this succinct and alarming report from the ABC. What were those government agencies thinking?  Now a Nationals senator decided to ...