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James Weir

December 2024

An advantage of shares is that if you want to avoid concentration risk you can buy the whole market.

What’s the best way to invest $200,000 – shares or property?

Both asset types have rewarded investors handsomely, but one strategy will net you $500,000 more – provided you can stomach the risk.

October 2024

Trying to adjust your investment strategy based on the potential election outcome is a nil sum game.

Don’t let politics get in the way of a good return

With the US presidential election less than a month away should investors be concerned about the impact on sharemarkets?

August 2024

Small caps again look cheap compared to large caps, but bear in mind the differences in fundamentals.

Small caps are as cheap as they’ve been this century

The phenomenal – albeit short – rally we saw in July is evidence that when small caps finally take off, they can move quickly.

June 2024

Aussie tech stocks that could supercharge a portfolio

These seven companies have collectively returned an astonishing 1151 per cent since 2016.

One of the principal benefits of home ownership is long-term financial security.

Why Gen Z’s share portfolios should be free of capital gains tax

There’s little prospect of housing affordability improving, so the portfolios of young savers should get the same tax-free treatment as the family home.

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April 2024

What you’re missing out by investing only in Australian shares

With low forecast earnings domestically, if you aren’t diversifying across markets, it’s time to do so now.

March 2024

Although there will be significant bad debts, they appear to have already peaked.

Two ETFs for investors looking to tap bargains in China recovery

There is no telling if the Chinese sharemarket crash is over, but smart investors know that in carnage can lie opportunity.

February 2024

Over 2023 there were a number of private credit funds that returned well above 10 per cent, even as high as 12 per cent.

Why private credit is redefining fixed income

There’s a lot to like about investing in private credit but beware the shonks.

January 2024

Five reasons US stocks may not be as expensive as you think

There’s no way of telling if returns will continue to be as high, but it’s hard to argue against American exceptionalism when it comes to making a buck.

November 2023

Three years of negative returns have left investors wondering if the bond balloon has burst.

Want to make more money in bonds? Skip the ‘bargain hunt’

Duration risk, and the volatility it causes, is the trickiest part about investing in bonds, even after they’ve copped a beating.

October 2023

When you add in a dysfunctional US congress and an approaching election plus continuing problems in China, it’s clear why the bears are again on the prowl.

The big spending that could keep the US out of recession

The doomsayers were wrong with dire predictions late last year – and they could be off the mark this time, too.

September 2023

China has a weighting of 31 per cent in the EM index, but accounts for 49 per cent of both EM GDP and sharemarket capitalisation.

Why emerging markets might finally deliver

Some forecast higher returns than developed countries over the next 12 months, but there are reasons for the sector’s long-term underperformance.

August 2023

History shows you can’t keep a good market down for ever.

The ASX 200 is stuck in the mud – but investors keep winning

The ASX 200 has been moving sideways for three-and-a-half years but dividends and franking credits mean investors are likely to have earned nearly 9 per cent a year.

July 2023

Keep your wits about AI’s heady possibilities

Analysts are falling over themselves trying to work out AI’s productivity and earnings implications, but at this stage anything they say just an educated guess.

The bulls argue share markets have already factored in the likelihood of a recession.

How to win the recession guessing game

There’s a good argument for remaining invested in shares, but retaining an allocation to cash or fixed income as a defensive strategy and to pick up a bargain.

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June 2023

Where to find opportunity in small caps

The multi-year discount small caps are trading at compared to large caps, both in Australia and overseas, could mean now is the time to act.

May 2023

Where you can find higher returns with less risk

Private equity and credit have outperformed their public market equivalents in 20 of the past 21 years, with significantly less volatility.

April 2023

Jerome Powell, the US Federal Reserve chair, last June admitted: “We now understand better how little we understand about inflation.”

Why central banks are getting it wrong

Smart investors need to remember to base their investment decisions on what they think will happen, not what should happen.

March 2023

The trend to environmental investing.

Market themes that should drive your investment decisions

With unprecedented money flagged to be spent on climate-related projects, this is how investors can get exposure.

February 2023

The surge in US shares is likely to end. Here’s what you need to do

The decade-long bull run in US shares is about to change. Here’s what you need to do to get ready.

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Original URL: https://www.afr.com/by/james-weir-p4yvm6