Opinion

Tesla has done it again. First South Australia, now Victoria. The world’s largest battery storage systems, powered by Tesla’s utility-scale Megapack batteries, has been switched online in Victoria last Wednesday. According to CNBC, the “large energy storage systems based on lithium-ion batteries have the potential to prevent blackouts and let utilities store and use more…

Is this greenwashing, or simply a business trying to ensure that its operations are conducted as responsibly as possible? Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure Limited (ASX: DBI), which listed in December 2020, is a unique business; it operates a major infrastructure asset – the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal on the central Queensland coast – that ships coal…

Thanks in part to the pandemic, employers have sufficient awareness of mental health problems in the workforce, their human and economic costs. Now is the time for programs to solve them. A multi-country multi-industry webinar last week (December 9) looked at how employers should learn from the impact of covid-19 and put in place processes…

The passive vs. active debate has now been around for several decades, effectively starting when Jack Bogle founded Vanguard in the 1960s. While headlines highlighting the below-average performance of ‘active’ managers make for great headlines, they offer little insight into what is actually occurring in equity markets around the world. Peter Lynch is a well-known…

This year was a year to remember for cryptocurrency. Not only did it go “mainstream” in Australia but it received the much-needed regulatory oversight required to help provide greater security for both investors and cryptocurrency businesses. Although regulators may have taken a while to get their heads around cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, the government…

After a dismal year in terms of dividend yields, payouts have been at multi-year lows after most corporations were forced to cut payments to shareholders because of the pandemic. But Plato Investment Management is confident that dividends are back, and has revised up its dividend yield target for the 2022 financial year to 10% gross…

The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price has sunk nearly 80% from its highs in 2020 to now rest at $9.81. Multiple guidance downgrades, bearish analysts reports and shifting customer priorities have presented major challenges for the business. Despite the share price fall, the selling could be potentially overdone. Here, I’ll be presenting the bull case; and it might not all be…

Inflation isn’t the only thing that investors should be concerned about. According to Roger Montgomery,  founder and chief investment officer of Montgomery Investment Management, investors need to consider the income side of the equation and use this as an opportunity rather than a disaster. While the market is somewhat consumed with rising inflation, Montgomery believes…

Italian football club, S.S. Lazio, of the Italian league (Series A), has found itself with a new sponsor after signing a partnership agreement with cryptocurrency exchange, Binance. An unusual partnership it may be, nonetheless the deal was done and as stated on the club website, “SS Lazio SpA is pleased to announce a partnership agreement…

On Wednesday, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) hosted its Annual General Meeting (AGM) with shareholders. Both Chairwoman Catherine Livingstone AO and Chief Executive Matt Comyn addressed the audience. Here are three notable points for shareholders to keep in mind from the prepared remarks. 1. Happy wife (workers), happy life One set of statistics from the AGM stood out. Of the…

Where CRE debt fits in a defensive portfolio with an income focus The problem with bonds Times are tough for investors or advisers looking to add value through a defensive portfolio. Defensive, or income assets, aim to provide income rather than capital growth. They generally carry a lower investment risk than shares or property, with…

Financial advisers are generally bound by the terms and conditions contained in a prospectus or product disclosure document (PDS) issued to a retail investor when buying securities or a financial product. But under the Corporations Act 2001, a ‘sophisticated investor’ or a ‘wholesale client’ receives special treatment and is exempt from receiving regulated disclosure documents,…