The Rules of Investing

“Are you okay?” That was the question Emma Fisher got from her mum after the ASX plunged more than 6% in a single day. For Fisher, it was a soft signal that the worst of the panic may be behind us. In this episode of The Rules of Investing, Emma shares why sharp sell-offs are the new normal, the two market “buckets” she’s buying from, and how she’s funding new ideas. Last time she was on the podca...

No matter how long you’ve been in markets, we’re all guilty, at one point or another, of operating at a headline level. When markets are moving violently - like they are now - and we’re all trying to keep up, operating at a summary level can become even more pronounced. But looking beyond the headlines, challenging what you think you know, and diving deeper into complex issues, will almost certain...

At the start of 2025, there were three big-picture scenarios facing investors: a hard landing, a soft landing, or no landing at all. Just two of those scenarios remain, with a hard landing now off the table, according to Ten Cap’s Jun Bei Liu. That view might seem a touch ambitious in light of the market rout that kicked off in mid-February and gathered steam as sticky inflation and a tariff war p...

The allure of small-cap investing is undeniable. The chance to find an overlooked gem that can skyrocket is real, but the risks are just as high. Illiquidity, limited analyst coverage, and varying investor strategies create opportunities—but also traps. Success stories like Pro Medicus and Netwealth prove the potential, yet the volatility can be brutal. Steve Johnson, CIO at Forager Funds, knows t...

From investing his paper route money in term deposits when he was nine years old, to racing the two kilometres from one end of Collins Street to the other to submit a handwritten RBA bond tender, to running a market-beating income fund for more than 20 years, Yarra Capital Management’s Roy Keenan has seen it all in his 40 years in fixed income. It is this broad experience and love for fixed income...

Stock markets are off to a flying start for 2025. The S&P ASX 200 is up nearly 5%, with gold, banks and technology companies continuing their bull runs from 2024. The consensus view is that banks and tech are expensive, but the market doesn't seem to agree, or at least it doesn't care. Moments like this can be challenging for investors; fundamentals tell you to look the other way, but ignoring...

The past few years have been kind to investors. A glance over 2024 asset class returns suggests that most Australian investors have been sitting on healthy gains for the past 12 months, with the much-loved banks leading the charge. Global equity exposure will have sweetened returns, with the S&P 500 clocking up consecutive years of +20%. Even conservative investors have been rewarded with retu...

If you’re feeling upbeat about markets as we head into 2025, you’re not alone. 41% of investors that participated in Livewire’s Outlook Series Survey said they are feeling optimistic about markets right now, well ahead of the following most popular response with 30% of survey participants saying they are feeling anxious. The responses are not surprising, given the decisive run in equity markets in...

The Australian property market is incredibly nuanced. Markets like Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth are soaring by double digits while the markets of Sydney and Melbourne have started to cool considerably. But even if prices in the largest housing markets are mellowing, it does not take away the core and indisputable argument: Housing may never have been affordable but now, the crisis is worse than e...

Koda Capital is one of Australia's elite wealth management firms, charged with allocating over $11.5 billion of capital on behalf of high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and charitable foundations. For the past decade, Brigette Leckie has played a pivotal role in shaping the firm's views on where the best opportunities lie across global asset markets. Leckie firmly believes that understandi...

For those who love equities, you’re in for a treat with the latest Rules of Investing podcast. This week's episode features First Sentier Investors’ Deputy Head of Australian Equities Growth, David Wilson. Wilson's bread and butter is picking high-quality growth companies - a role he executes every day as part of the team that runs the First Sentier Geared Australian Share Fund. He is not afraid t...

In a world where artificial intelligence dominates headlines, few fund managers have harnessed it as boldly as Armina Rosenberg. For those who don't know her, "Arms" made a name for herself at Grok Ventures, the family office of Mike Cannon-Brookes. Now, she's paving a new path at AI-backed Minotaur Capital, alongside Perpetual alumnus Thomas Rice. The duo have developed Taurient, a software syste...

Today, we’ll be bringing all the insights from Livewire Live together with the help of one of Australia's leading financial advisers and one of the country's top wealth managers. Livewire’s James Marlay sat down with Alexandre Ventelon of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and Charlie Viola of Pitcher Partners to answer our audience’s questions about asset allocation and give investors some tangible...

Today, you’ll be learning about the good, the bad and the ugly of equities markets - with the help of: Dr David Allen, Head of Long/Short Strategies, Plato Investment Management Ben Griffiths, Executive Chairman, Eley Griffiths Group James Hawkins, Partner & Head of the Catalyst Fund, L1 Capital Dushko Bajic, Head of Australian Equities Growth, First Sentier Investors This panel is hosted by C...

Many of the best investing opportunities emerge when you think differently from the herd. This session will feature five high energy predictions that will challenge consensus thinking as inves­tors look towards 2025 and beyond. You’ll be hearing from five of Australia’s leading investment minds, including: Kellie Wood, Head of Fixed Income at Schroders  Vihari Ross, Portfolio Manager at Antipodes,...

In this session you’ll be hearing a fireside chat with Todd Barlow the CEO of Soul Patts, Australia’s oldest listed company. Soul Patts is a diversified investment house often described as Australia’s answer to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. The company has established an incredible record of dividend payments to shareholders and today you’ll be getting an asset allocation masterclass from T...

Artificial Intelligence is surely the hottest topic right now powering returns in stock markets and capturing our attention with its promise of productivity and innovation. But with such spectacular interest and returns I’m sure many investors are wondering if the opportunity has passed.  Our next panel will be picking the eyes out of the AI opportunity. How big is it and where are we in the cycle...

In this episode, you’ll be hearing a panel exploring a number of big topics dominating conversations around markets right now. From the changing macro backdrop and debate over the merits of public vs private markets to the implications of ageing populations, the energy transition and digital innovation these are Seismic Shifts and we’re going to hear about the opportunities they present for invest...

In this episode, you’ll hear from Scott Kleinman, the co-president of Apollo Global Management, as he sits down with Livewire’s James Marlay. Kleinman shares his views on why he believes markets are getting ahead of themselves with rate cut expectations, where he sees value across various sectors, and how Apollo is positioning to take advantage of mega trends such as digital transformation, the en...

Behavioural economics explains why we make such stupid decisions with our money. Unfortunately, the study has found that behavioural biases are very hard to control and, even if you are aware of them, no one is immune from poor decision-making when it comes to both life and our finances.  This is where quantitative or systematic investing comes in - a realm of investing typically reserved for inst...

While Warren Buffett's favourite holding time may be forever, the average holding period for a typical investor is now just 5.5 months. In a world where news, analysis and investment ideas are readily available at our fingertips, investors have quickly forgotten the benefits of long-term compounding and instead are focused on the next great stock, driven likely by their fear of missing out.   We'v...

Nowadays, it’s quite easy to get swept up in the negativity around our economic plight. Living costs are a very real concern, as are increasingly unaffordable house prices. But, as Australians, we’re also quite fortunate. Our economy has enjoyed an unprecedented run of growth, we’re highly educated, we’re resource-rich, and we have opportunities – one of which lies in energy creation. As Darren Br...

In 1990, then-Treasurer Paul Keating famously said that the country's economic downturn was the “recession that Australia had to have.” Although Keating was responding to a poor GDP print and doing his best to control the narrative, at the start of the rate hiking cycle in mid-2022 most in the market spoke of an impending recession with almost as much certainty. As it stands today, said recession...

In this episode of The Rules of Investing, Livewire's Ally Selby learns about some of the companies that meet these criteria, why Rizzo believes AI will be far more transformative than investors currently think, as well as why he believes that investors are likely to do more harm waiting for a correction in some of these tech winners than a correction itself.  Plus, he shares what he is seeing on...

Much has been made of the “Great Rotation” of late and the move away from highly concentrated large caps into small-cap equities, particularly in the US. Greg Dean, founder of Langdon Equity Partners, is having none of it. When quizzed about whether the rotation was impacting how Dean and his team invest, the short answer was ‘no’. Late last year, amid widespread commentary about 2024 being the ‘y...