10 years ago, the Apple iPhone was released. Through the power of technology and population, this pocket-sized supercomputer changed the world as we know it. “You could argue that the combination of the iPhone and Facebook gave us Donald Trump,” Charlie Aitken, CIO of Aitken Investment Management, told a packed... Show More
The first thing you learn about being contrarian is that humans don't normally like to act this way. As the cartoon suggests, we're a social animal. We like to stick together. When we were all living in the jungle and someone yells, "Run! Lion!" it’s the contrarians that get eaten.... Show More
At around $1.9 trillion Australian dollars, the Australian equity market is a minnow by global standards. It represents roughly 2% of global equity markets. Said another way, by only owning Australian shares, you are missing 98% of the world's investment opportunities. Show More
Buybacks can support stock prices by reducing share counts and boosting earnings per share, although that is no guarantee of producing a rising share price. Fundamentals such as revenues, underlying earnings trends, competitive prospects and interest rates still count for more. Show More
The FAANG stocks (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google/Alphabet) led the market up and participated in the recent correction. Their latest profit reports are an important guide to the sustainability of the tech sector's rise. Here we argue that on a Price Earnings Growth basis, they still look sharp. Show More
In the twelve months to Monday of this week, the S&P500 index is up 15.02%, while Alibaba is up 80%, Google is up 29.3%, Amazon is up 71% and Apple is up 24%. By contrast, Exxon is down 5.6%, Coke is up 7.6% and General Motors is up 11%. To... Show More
Small and medium-sized fintechs could struggle to compete with Australia’s large banks. However, the global tech giants could cause major problems for the banks - if they targeted wide spread general commercial banking. Show More
It has been about 10 years since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) began to unfold. Very few were prepared for the financial damage that ensued. And it has permanently impacted the psyche of many market pundits. Since then, there has been no shortage of bear market predictions and lately there... Show More
If you think so, you aren't alone - complaints and conspiracy theories are all over the internet. This goes to the core of the biggest question right now for technology investors: will Apple's customers upgrade their phone, or will the 'iPhone Supercycle' fizz. US$3 trillion is riding on the answer. Show More
This week we saw Apple’s share price suffer a hangover from the launch of the iPhone 8 and iPhone X. Tesla surprised the market with the rumour that it is partnering with AMD for an autonomous driving chip, knocking Nvidia’s shares. Google bought HTC’s Pixel hardware team. And amusing (and... Show More
On the topic of valuation, Professor Aswath Damodaran is one of the greatest communicators of our time. Recently, he sat down with another famous NYU professor, Scott Galloway, to discuss the valuations of some of the world’s leading technology companies. Professor Galloway is known for his engaging TED-style talks where... Show More
With plenty of buzz about the FANG stocks, the next time you think of the word FANG, think about the underlying power of the business models and applying this to other stocks. Show More
Common perception, particularly in Australia, is that doing business in India is difficult, unfruitful and has many challenges ranging from sovereign, cultural and execution risks. Quite often perceptions are shaped by prior experiences and travel to India in prior decades. Show More
Livewire recently interviewed Nick Griffin, Chief Investment Officer of Munro Partners, to ask him the criteria he uses to identify great growth companies, what the market has wrong at the moment, and how he goes about finding the next digital winners. Show More
Last Friday the US Technology Index fell almost 3%, with selling concentrated in the largest stocks: Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google (the so-called 'FANGs') plus Microsoft and Apple were all down 3-5%. The slide resumed on Wednesday and Thursday and investors must question whether this will continue. I think there... Show More
Hamish Douglass, the CIO of Magellan will be contributing his ideas to the upcoming Livewire Live event on 26 July at the ASX. In his keynote presentation Hamish will be taking us on a journey to the future to help us understand the most powerful trends that you’ll need to... Show More
This week Livewire attended the ‘Better Manage your Wealth’ seminar, hosted by Market Matters. The event featured talks by a number of speakers including James Gerrish of Shaw Stockbroking, and Charlie Aitken of AIM. Here’s a wrap on Charlie’s current views on 'the good, the bad, and the ugly'... Show More
“Technological innovation seems to be moving faster than ever, from driverless cars to robot lawyers to 3D-printed human organs. The not-so-good news is that we can see technological breakthroughs everywhere except in the productivity statistics.” Christine Lagarde, IMF (April 2017) Show More
Amazon and Google, two of the world’s top ten biggest listed companies, jumped around 4% in the aftermarket on the back of above-market quarterly revenue numbers released overnight; they showed organic growth of 23% and 22% respectively. These numbers are significant, but it’s important to contextualise them with reference to... Show More
New global leaders don’t come up very often, so identifying them relatively early can have a huge effect on a portfolio. The iPhone came out ten years ago, and investors that bought Apple in 2007 are now sitting on a ~1000% return before dividends. So, how do you get one... Show More