Investing basics
The two best ways to maximise dividend income

People often marvel at Warren Buffett now getting 60 cents in annual dividends on every dollar he invested in Coca-Cola 30 years ago. What’s often overlooked are the secrets to how he achieved this phenomenal result.
Read more | 5 min read
Investing basics
Investors can't ignore this predictor of managed fund returns

Fund managers often get bashed for failing to beat their index over long periods of time. This might be a key indicator of the returns investors can expect.
Read more | 6 min read
Investing basics
Invest in equities until you reach our sleeping point

Benjamin Graham wrote that everyone should hold between 25% and 75% in equities, with the rest in bonds. The right level is the point where you sleep easy.
Read more | 5 min read
Investing basics
Using financials to find interesting stocks
Ideas and business investment opportunities often present themselves as numbers.
Read more | 5 min read
Investing basicsInvesting Trends
Our view of Australian Banks
Our latest banking industry pulse explored the state of the industry.
Read more | 4 min read
Investing basics
Building portfolios using quantitative signals
James Gruber chats with Andrew Francis and David Walsh from RQI Investors.
Read more | 6 min read
Investing basics
Wisdom from a career in markets
Morningstar Head of Equity Research Peter Warnes reflects on a 61 year career.
Read more | 10 min read
Investing basics
Boosting the magic of compounding—Berkshire has a way
We at Morningstar are indebted to the Berkshire dynamic duo, for the way we think about the sources of durable competitive advantages.
Read more | 8 min read
Investing basics
UniSuper CIO John Pearce on why the 60/40 portfolio is far from dead
The $130 Billion SuperFund Manager also talks about how he sees risk, his recent investments, and why history isn’t a good guide to the future.
Read more | 7 min read
Investing basics
Weighting for the opportunity
Know the index weightings of different markets around the world. It not only reveals the key sectoral influences on each market, but serves as a useful roadmap on where to look for desired industry exposure.
Read more | 5 min read
Investing basics
Assessing Private-Market Opportunities
Using traditional fund assessment methods in private markets.
Read more | 6 min read
Investing basics
[VIDEO] Company highlights and lowlights from reporting season
Morningstar analysts assess winners and losers from sectors including mining and energy.
Read more | 3 min read
Investing basics
Four investors walk into a bar … Part 2

And have a competition with Mr. Market.
Read more | 4 min read
Investing basics
How to find the right active manager
Johanna Englundh talks to Morningstar's Jose Garcia-Zarate on how to identify managers that can help you on your investing journey.
Read more | 5 min read
Investing basics
A capital gains tax discount is legitimate but how much?
With negative gearing, where costs of owning a rental property exceed revenues, the ‘loss’ can be charged against other personal income. Some people seem to think the loss itself is a good thing because it reduces their tax, but the tax savings only reduces the loss: it is still a loss.
Read more | 4 min read
Investing basics
What investors should look for in a fund manager

We outline what we believe investors should look for in a fund manager and examine the differing funds management models in Australia.
Read more | 6 min read
Investing basics
The Ambitious World of Absolute Return Bonds
Are absolute return managers exhibiting the skill to consistently deliver on all their objectives, and are these strategies worth the additional cost for investors? Should absolute return bond managers be expected to protect the downside as well as meeting absolute return objectives?
Read more | 7 min read
Investing basics
What do cheese and hybrids have in common?

Losing the confidence of your funders, whether retail or institutional, has fast and far-reaching implications.
Read more | 7 min read
Investing basics
The 60/40 Portfolio Is Dead. Long Live the 60/40 Portfolio!
Much has been written in 2022 about the death of the so-called 60/40 portfolio. Many suggest it isn’t an appropriate solution for future portfolio construction. This paper will explore these concerns and also explore whether the 60/40 portfolio may now be even better placed for the future.
Read more | 6 min read
Investing basics
Stock ideas for a likely unsettled 2023; more central bank musings
2023 should be more settled, but uncertainty will remain the investor’s constant companion. It could be a year where markets finish near starting points.
Read more | 6 min read
Investing basics
Fighting the last war
Investors often overweight new events or information without looking into the objective probabilities of those events occurring in the long run.
Read more | 5 min read
Investing basics
Morningstar talks asset allocation and where to begin
Morningstar's Tim Murphy talks asset allocation and where to begin
Read more | 8 min read
Investing basics
5 Things to Do in a Bear Market
Rebalancing, tax-loss selling, and buying on the dip are among the productive moves to consider. (8 mins)
Read more | 8 min read
Investing basics
Long-term rates have soared, but is fixed or floating best?
The threat of higher interest rates, slower economic growth, rising inflation and deteriorating credit is making investing scary at the moment, especially in equity markets.
Read more | 5 min read
Investing basics
How to Think About Managing Style Within a Portfolio
In our recent article, "Australian Equity Performance: What’s Driving Markets," we looked at return drivers in the domestic market that had begun to soften following a strong pandemic-rebound period. We decided to see how variability in return profiles between styles and sectors can be managed within a portfolio’s Australian equity allocation. One key observation lately has been the variance in fortunes between value and growth investment styles driven by divergent sector performance.
Read more | 4 min read
Investing basics
Your year-end portfolio review - In six easy steps
As 2021 winds down, investors can look back on yet another excellent year. While investors have had plenty to worry about - especially inflation and the delta and omicron variants of the coronavirus - that hasn't stopped US stocks from posting a tremendous rally. Australian stocks are poised to end the year with respectable gains.
Read more | 6 min read
Investing basics
3 investment mistakes to avoid
This is not the first time that I have written about these three investment blunders. Fortunately, they are becoming less common. But, until they disappear altogether, admonitions are still warranted.
Read more | 5 min read
Investing basics
The power of compound interest
Albert Einstein is reputed to have said: “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it; he who doesn’t, pays it.” As an investor, making your money work for you is the best way to increase your wealth. And the wealth you will accumulate is the result of 2 things: how long you invest and the rate of return on your investment.
Read more | 3 min read
Investing basics
Three all-time best tables for every adviser and investor
I have read countless books on investing, met an enormous number of financial experts and fund managers, and made pretty much every investing mistake possible! If I could distil my learnings into one statement, it would be this: the short term is unknowable, but the long term is inevitable. Let me share my three all-time favourite tables from 30 years of investing.
Read more | 5 min read
Investing basics
Why it’s time to update your SMSF investment strategy
Having a future-proof investment strategy is not only legally compulsory, but also one of the best ways to enhance retirement savings. Amid volatile markets, how can self-managed super funds get the right settings in place? Recent market volatility suggests a review of investment strategy is advisable, particularly ahead of the approaching new financial year. The Australian Taxation Office says the strategy must be reviewed at least annually, and when “significant events” occur including a market correction.
Read more | 7 min read
Investing basics
Hume and Frydenberg reset super with two buzz words
Adding to the jargon that fills the superannuation industry and confuses most people, two common words have taken on new meanings. They sound innocent, but when a Morrison Government minister uses the words ‘efficiency’ and ‘flexibility’ in the super debate, they now have particular definitions. And in neither case is it the way we previously understood superannuation.
Read more | 12 min read
Investing basics
Buying shares: 400,000 Aussies enter the market
The recovery of US stocks and the profusion of new trading platforms drew huge numbers of novice traders.
Read more | 10 min read
Investing basics
How to build a core and satellite fund portfolio
Building an investment portfolio is not an easy task. Whether you’re a novice or a skilled adviser, picking the right funds takes time and research and, despite that, many times we all get something wrong. One approach investors can take is to build a core and satellite portfolio.
Read more | 6 min read
Investing basics
Lessons from the Financial Crisis
Clint Abraham, Portfolio Specialist at Morningstar Investment Management, takes a look at the key lessons learned in the decade since the Global Financial Crisis.
Read more | 5 min read
Back to top
Subscribe