Sim's monthly insights for February
Rounding off this month with a focus on affordability.
This month officially marked one year of moving to Sydney and one year after draining my funds for Taylor Swift tickets. This February didn’t quite live up to last year’s excitement, however it was an interesting month for markets with the effect of Trump’s executive orders beginning to take form.
Notably, the RBA lowered rates for the first time in four years as inflationary pressures began easing. I reviewed what these cuts could mean for property investors.
I kicked off the second edition of my personal column, Young & Invested, with a glance at the affordability of having children in Australia’s economic climate. It is no secret that our nation’s fertility rate has been on the decline with most population growth bolstered by immigration. I ran an exercise that examined the feasibility of having a child for the median millennial couple and found that it was largely out of reach for most. This leaves significant considerations for individuals when evaluating whether parenthood is compatible with their financial goals.
This month my personal columns took focus on affordability, amidst a cost of living and housing crisis. First, I examined how housing affordability has changed over generations and what salary it would require to comfortably buy a home in Australia. And after delved deeper into our housing crisis and explored policy proposals from both parties as the federal election looms closer.
Ever wondered how you can make better financial decisions? Your emotions often play a large role. Morningstar’s Mind the Gap study aims to examine the gap between investor results and reported total returns of a fund. A returns gap of 1.1% was found and attributed partly to mistimed purchases and sales – likely driven by emotionally irrational decisions. In this article I explore three emotional biases and how they can affect your investment decisions.
Working at an investment research house means I am surrounded by an abundance of quality research on investment opportunities. However, I have a spotty investment history littered with individual stock picks and varied returns. In my time as an investor, I noticed an overarching theme: I simply could not beat the market. This month I examined the reasons why I don’t invest in individual stocks (anymore).
Lastly, I made my video debut for Morningstar as I sat down with Mark LaMonica to discuss what qualifies as ‘rich’ in Australia.
