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My 3 ASX takeaways from the week

Over the week, the technology and discretionary sectors pulled the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) down 0.5%, while US markets delivered their third-straight week of gains.

Here are my three key ASX takeaways from the week.

This time is different

This may come back to bite me, but could this time actually be different? The longer the bull market extends the more calls come regarding this being the biggest speculative bubble in history, or that the market is trading at ridiculous valuations.

Naturally, we make comparisons to the most recent catastrophic events, like the GFC or Dot Com bubble, yet is there really that much to compare? The Dot Com occurred at the beginning of the digital age, and the GFC from a massive run-up of leverage.

We continue to be faced with an ageing demographic and deflationary technology advancement, and as we have seen in history, forecasters have been great at predicting the last two bear markets on more than a dozen occasions.

Transitory growth or inflation

Comments from the Federal Reserve and RBA during the week around the less certain nature of the economic recovery have me asking whether it is actually growth, not inflation that may be transitory?

With supply chains hit, the pandemic looking likely to extend into a third year and consumers still in shell shock, perhaps bets on a breakout in inflation are too hopeful; this would be a positive for ‘growth stocks’.

‘Extracting value’

Finally, IFM’s aggressive approach for Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) once again drew attention to the huge amount of corporate activity, with management focused on ‘extracting value’ in what seems to be a low growth environment.

Demergers, IPOs, asset sales and acquisitions appear to be in vogue as management seeks to deliver any growth at all.

The Golden Rules of Investing

We might be experts in retirement, but with combined financial advice experience of 35+ years, we’ve nearly seen it all. 

In mid-2023, our senior team at Wattle Partners Financial Planning put the finishing touches on a brand-new report “The Golden Rules of Investing“.

In this free report, we outline the key principles that determine all of the portfolio construction and investment decisions of Wattle Partners. Collated over decades, this paper should be seen as a work-in-progress, constantly under review in light of the ever-evolving nature of markets. 

You’ll find the free report on my Author page. Simply click the button below to view the Golden Rules.

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At the time of publishing, the author of this article does not have a financial or commercial interest in any of the companies mentioned.

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Wattle Partners is a financial advice firm, servicing clients around Australia, specialising in retirement planning (pre and post retirement). 

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