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Jonathan Shapiro

This Month

The best of Monday Fundie 2024.

CBA, the next 10-bagger, founder woes: The best of Monday Fundie 2024

The fund manager profiles that resonated the most with readers this year were rich in speculative stock tips, but it’s the deep insights that have made this column a hit.

Kevin Corbally and Shayne Elliott at ANZ’s half-year results in May 2024.

ANZ risk boss fed up with bank leaks

Executives are cracking down on would-be informants before the bank’s AGM as the board hopes to convince investors it has been tough enough on cultural failings.

CBA boss Matt Comyn. The bank’s share price levitated in 2024.

Seven key questions for investors in 2025

Super fund giants, big bank share runs, hyped up burritos, data-centre floats and another hot year for private credit were the most divisive themes in 2024. What’s next?

  • Updated
Scott Hartley, the CEO of Insignia Financial.

Insignia board weighs $2.7b Bain bid against turnaround

Bain’s cash has Insignia shareholders wondering whether they should cut and run ahead of a complex but credible turnaround strategy.

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Perpetual Chairman Tony D’Aloisio with Perpetual CEO Bernard Reilly prior to the Perpetual AGM at the Swissotel Hotel in November.

Bleak prospects for Perpetual’s $2.2b KKR deal after tax bill blowout

The fund manager said it would have to pay up to $529 million to sell two lucrative divisions to the buyout giant, ruining the economics of the transaction.

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Shayne Elliott has been the chief executive of ANZ since 2016. He will retire from the bank next year.

Shayne Elliott’s rented Corolla wasn’t enough for ANZ in the end

The career banker took the top job in 2016, unwinding a failed regional expansion and wowing shareholders. Those shareholders are a bit less wowed now.

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Fixed income investors are going to chase yield in 2025.

Fixed income brokers prepare for a ‘gold rush’

A surprise decision by regulators to phase out major bank hybrids has sparked a race to fill the void and meet a growing demand for income.

APRA chairman John Lonsdale has called time on popular bank hybrids.

APRA winds down $43b bank hybrid market, angering investors

The prudential regulator says other forms of capital are safer and make it easier for issuers to respond to future crises without bailing in retail investors.

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Mike Lukin of Roc Partners is launching a new fund that is aimed at wealthy families and individual investors.

Australian private equity goes evergreen to court wealthy investors

Roc Partners is the latest big buyout group to pivot to open-ended funds as firms switch from industry superannuation.

Shayne Elliott last month, as he presented ANZ’s full-year results to investors. He has been with the bank since 2009.

ANZ’s Elliott to resign after nine years as chief executive

The career banker arrived at ANZ in 2009 and was appointed to the top job in 2016. His departure is expected to be announced as early as this week.

ANZ’s Shayne Elliott at a parliamentary hearing.

Six observations about the cultural failings in ANZ’s markets unit

Disgruntled employees are being interviewed about a problematic workplace culture at the same time as the bank is telling them about their annual bonus.

Bitcoin has hit $US100,000. Do we still care?

The cryptocurrency has burst through a historic milestone. But the bulls aren’t bragging, and the bears aren’t finger wagging. So what’s changed?

Chris Hulls, centre, as Life360 makes its public market debut in New York.

The ASX’s founders are in dump mode

Insiders are cashing out hundreds of millions of dollars of stocks after stellar share price runs. Are they sending a message?

Star stock picker Rajiv Jain is for the first time on the back foot over his $US10 billion bet on Adani.

Investors pull $1.5b from GQG amid Adani allegations

The Adani bribery charges have sparked a “snap change” in client flows for the fund manager and research analysts are cutting their price targets.

Kiril Sokoloff.

This market guru learnt from Buffett and Soros. These are his big bets

Kiril Sokoloff has been calling market turning points for half a century. While he’s looking for his next big prediction, here are three of his current picks.

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APRA chairman John Lonsdale.

D-day for bank hybrids draws a line under divisive APRA process

The prudential regulator is due to give the market an update on whether it will kill bank hybrids. Some people wonder whether it has gone too far.

November

Star stock picker Rajiv Jain is for the first time on the back foot over his $US10 billion bet on Adani.

Adani’s implosion is star stock picker Rajiv Jain’s biggest test

GQG Partners has a reputation for picking hugely profitable contrarian trades. A $US10 billion bet on the Indian conglomerate has put it in the firing line.

Competition Minister Andrew Leigh is pushing for shareholder disclosure changes.

Treasury plan could end era of shareholder secrecy

A workaround exploited by billionaires and hedge funds to secretly build positions in listed companies could be extinguished if a legislative change succeeds.

Deanne Stewart, CEO  of $176 billion super fund Aware Super says they’re bolstering their capabilities.

The country’s big super funds are preparing to hit global risk limits

As they grow, funds have no choice but to send more of their member capital offshore. But that comes with challenges that they may simply be unable to manage.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers wants to guide the Future Fund and super funds to invest in the national interest.

Chalmers’ chance: where national and financial interests collide

The Treasurer has a vision to unite the financial interests of investors with the national interest. There are roadblocks and risks.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/by/jonathan-shapiro-j7ge1