The ALP’s proposal to ditch franking credit cash rebates evoked an emotional response from self-funded retirees, sparking substantial analysis and debate on the issue. While there have been few developments to the policy proposal since it was announced in March Livewire spoke to Dr Don Hamson from Plato Investment Management... Show More
Dr Don Hamson from Plato Investment Management is always on the lookout for the best income opportunities from equities. His research suggests that there has been a 40% increase year on year for the dividends being paid out from the resources sector. Show More
There are no free lunches in finance, but for Australian investors, franking credits can be the next best thing. Luke Cummings, Chief Investment Officer at Harvest Lane Asset Management, says that many M&A transactions are structured to include a fully franked dividend as part of the headline price. Australian investors... Show More
Of late, the headlines on dividends have been primarily focused on the proposed removal of some of the more favourable tax treatments should the Labor Party get elected to power. While franking credits certainly enhance the attraction of dividends received from Australian companies to many investors, we believe there are... Show More
Traditionally, when seeking income, investors have turned to fixed income investments such as term deposits or bonds. However, persistently low-interest rates have seen investing in higher yielding stocks become an increasingly popular strategy for investors seeking to generate an income stream. Show More
Are Australian bond-like proxies going to suffer a bondcano moment? Certainly, stocks that have defensive characteristics have been sold down in recent months. And bond bears would have it that they are collateral damage from rising US yields. However, we believe this is a false narrative. Hence, we need to... Show More
Dividend lovers: we’re witnessing a bit of a changing of the guard when it comes to the performance of ASX listed companies. Financials and in particular banks – where investors have traditionally looked for their sustainable dividend growth – are beginning to be threatened for the mantle of sustainable dividend... Show More
Bill Shorten caused quite a stir last week as Labor proposed a policy of removing the cash refunds for franking credits that some investors currently receive. While the changes affect a relatively small number of people compared to the broad Australian taxation system, it’s hard to ignore the serious impact... Show More
Get the full scoop on what Trump’s meeting with Kim Jong-Un, Labor’s $59b cash refund plan, and Spotify’s unconventional IPO means for you and your investments. Show More
When I was first asked to comment about the ALP’s proposed scrapping of franking credit refunds my response was I was “flabbergasted”. “Flabbergasted” that the party whose Treasurer Paul Keating created franking credits would cut those benefits accruing to retired workers, “flabbergasted” that the Leader of ALP Opposition who earns... Show More
In my AFR column I explain the consequences of Labor leader Bill Shorten's proposed new taxes for shares, property and hybrids---it's worth noting that even the Greens appear to have a problem with the notion of king-hitting prudent retirees with the Greens' leader vocally criticising Shorten's desire to deny retirees... Show More
CommSec Advisory’s Justin Wynne speaks with Tom Piotrowski about the upcoming February reporting season, including the factors to focus on in the results of the banks & miners. Show More
There was a time when Telstra was a staple of almost every Australian investor’s portfolio. Stable earnings and a big fully-franked yield meant that it never had problems attracting buyers. Things are different now. After cutting its dividend in August, Telstra is now down >30% year to date. Show More
The old saying goes; ‘there are two sides to every trade’, but in the case of Telstra, we have three. In this second part of our equity income series, we take a close look at Telstra following the announcement of the upcoming dividend cut, and the associated share price fall. Show More
Telstra and the banks are mainstays of any Australian income-focused portfolio and make up nearly half of the dividends paid out by ASX companies in FY17. However, all five are down year-to-date, and Telstra recently announced an approximately 30% cut to its dividend. Show More
One of our largest holdings in the TBF Small Cap Value Growth Fund is a company with a market cap of $170M that reported a profit of $27M in CY2016 and paid a dividend of $18M. The business does not have a lot of debt on the balance sheet and... Show More
Beware the dividend stock for which the share market starts anticipating a significant deterioration in operational dynamics and thus, eventually, a reduction or even removal of the dividend. It happened to prior stalwarts such as Metcash, Fleetwood, Origin Energy, even to BHP Billiton and Woodside Petroleum. One look at price... Show More
Listed Australian companies have paid out $72 billion in dividends since the start of 2017, and that is a disaster for the country. This may come as a shock to those for whom dividends are an indicator of sound financial performance or a source of perceived return corporate stability going... Show More
Cash payouts: Last week, dividends started flowing from those companies that reported early in the recent earnings (profit-reporting) season. Conservatively around $22 billion (or around 1.3 per cent of GDP) will be paid out by companies over the next few months. Show More
Plato Income Maximiser Limited (ASX:PL8), a new Australian shares Listed Investment Company (LIC) with a high-income focus, has just launched. Show More