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These days, we are living in a rapidly changing world and tariffs declared by the new Trump administration are sending ripples through our economy, impacting our lives.

But, will buying Australian help you, and can it help our country?

To find out more, HotCopper‘s Sean Boss unpacks all things Australian-made.

Join the discussion: See what’s trending right now on Australia’s largest stock forum and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

Life is not a spectator sport, it only rewards action takers.

This is one of the maxims I preach and live by.

If you aspire to something, do something to make it happen!

Like anything, wealth is achievable no matter who you are.

You just need to choose the right path to arrive at your desired destination.

It’s a well-worn road that allows you to maximise your potential to accumulate while minimising the likelihood of losses.

Anyone can take this high road – deckhands to doctors, labourers to lawyers, make-up artists to merchant bankers.

It just requires discipline and determination to stay on course.

I like to think of it as a practical roadmap for people to navigate each phase of their life which allows them to enjoy the present whilst preparing diligently for the future.

As shared in my book The Wealth Playbook, I have separated life into six phases of investing, divided by decades. 

You can adopt this patch no matter your age – it’s never too late.

But depending on your financial health, you may need to play catch-up and work that little bit harder than others to achieve the same end goal.

Young people have time on their side and the more time your money is in the market working for you, the more you stand to gain.

That’s why understanding the principles of saving and investing are so important from an early age.

Those not fortunate enough to have parents or others teaching them the basic concepts should be encouraged to educate themselves.

A longer time horizon also gives young people the luxury of being able to invest aggressively with the ability to ride out market fluctuations, even severe crashes like in 2008. 

They should hence be drawn to high growth stocks, ETFs and steer whatever is left into high-interest savings accounts.

Many young people don’t know what they want to do in life, even after they have left school.

There’s nothing wrong with that but it shouldn’t prevent them from beginning their wealth accumulation journey.

Their primary objectives should be to gain employment or a part-time job if studying and to begin putting money aside for an emergency fund and a house deposit.

It is the perfect time to start thinking about what they want out of life and to set some future goals to help them get there.

This is a critical period where you hopefully settle into your chosen career and start increasing your earnings.

The key however is to do so while increasing your investing rather than your spending.

Surplus cash should be channelled towards higher risk, high growth investments.

The odd loss should not discourage an all out assault on chasing maximum returns.

People in their 20s need to prioritise paying off student debt and should aim to buy their first property around the age of 25.

With that achieved, it is well within their grasp to purchase their first investment property by age 28.

The 30s is a critical decade on the road to financial freedom.

It is about accumulation and aggressively growing your investment portfolio with the benefit of the higher wage you should now be earning.

To do this, your priority should be eliminating high-interest debt, enabling you to divert your resources towards wealth creation.

You should be investing in stocks, ETFs and property with a high growth mindset but without taking unnecessary or stupid risks.

Consider expanding your property portfolio as your rental income increases.

If you are a well-established high-income earner, a self-managed super fund (SMSF) may be beneficial as you start seriously planning for your retirement.

If you were paying attention in your 20s, you would know that by your 40s, the power of compounding begins to supercharge your wealth.

It’s a critical time to review your portfolio to ensure it remains aligned with your goals and is optimising your tax benefits.

It’s also vitally important to have maximum income protection insurance to guard against ill-health derailing your plans.

Continue to invest moderately to aggressively and you may even allow yourself a small side bet on an ‘exotic’ or high risk investment.

As people enter the pre-retirement phase in their 50s, the first thing they need to retire is their debt.

It may require selling some property assets as the focus shifts from negative gearing to positive income flow.

That includes a greater focus on stocks that pay dividends rather than ones with growth potential.

It’s also a time to dial back the risk profile of investments to a conservative level to protect assets from serious exposure to market crashes.

If you have remained on course, you can now look forward to reaping the rewards of your patience, dedication and hard work.

Your diverse portfolio of assets should mitigate your risk exposure and be paying you dividends that will represent your income for the rest of your life.

With a fixed income, you will now need to budget even more carefully and watch what you spend.

But remember, life is meant to be lived. So it is essential to shift your mindset from a saving to spending mentality, and enjoy the fruits of your success.

Andrew Baxter is an investment coach, leading trader and Dad. He’s the author of best selling book, The Wealth Playbook: Your Ultimate Guide To Financial Security, and founder of Australia’s top trading education platform, Australian Investment Education.

Disclaimer: Wealth Magnet Pty Ltd (ABN 52 618 868 830) trading as Australian Investment Education is a Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR no. 1255231) of Grange Financial Services Pty Ltd (AFSL No. 488609).

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

So far, 2024 is proving to be an another year of IPO drought downunder – there’s been the smallest trickle of new listings, with the yearly total on track to be below the 33 debuts in 2023, and well below the record of 202 in 2021.

Amongst the few debutants have been:

Guzman Y GOMEZ (ASX:GYG) listing today and rocketing up 36 per cent so far from its $22 IPO price. It has been trading at $30 a share on day one.

Infini Resources (ASX:I88) which joined the ASX on January 15. It’s a mineral explorer with multiple projects and developments throughout Australia and Canada.

It debuted at 20 cents per share but effectively hit the ASX closer to 40 cents. It’s trading at 16 cents on June 20.

A more recent example is Sun Silver (ASX:SS1), a junior explorer that debuted just over a month ago.

It saw great interest that led to the company listing early, and well above its raising price of 20 cents. The share price doubled and then climbed to 72 cents in its first week of trade. Today it has been trading above 50 cents.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

The good news is there’s a tool that can reduce the risk to a level that you’re comfortable to accept – known as a ‘stop-loss’ – which essentially limits your losses while you’re away, or asleep.

This short video explainer unwraps what many investors wish they knew about before to limit their losses on stocks.

The famous saying by Philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1860 still rings true today and Australia’s had its fair share of success in the development of medical breakthroughs throughout the years: from the electronic pacemaker in 1926; to the ultrasound machine in 1961; and the multi-channel cochlear implants in the 1970s. 

In more recent times, there’ve been some major transactions here on the ground, in fact, US investment into Australian life sciences topped USD$1.4 billion between 2018 and 2022.

At the moment there are more than 1300 medical technology, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical companies around the nation working to make a positive impact. 

Of those, 152 are listed on the ASX – with a total market capitalisation above A$179 billion! 

But it can be a super-slow process to get new treatments to markets.

It can take years, with several phases of trials required, and approvals. So, investors can require a high level of patience if they’re in these stocks!

Let’s dive into four of those on the ASX – that are moving closer to taking a health solution to commercialisation. 

Recce Pharmaceuticals (ASX:RCE) was launched in 2007 and is developing a new class of synthetic anti-infectives designed to address the global threat of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. The team at Recce is testing the drug candidate R327 on sepsis, urinary tract infections, diabetic foot infections and burn wounds, on the way to developing the next generation of antibiotics! Quite impressive, right? R327 is in Phase 1 and 2 of clinical trials with the aim to reach commercialisation and save lives with their drug.

ResMed (ASX:RES) goes way back to 1989. ResMed already has product solutions for people with sleep apnoea, obstructive pulmonary disease and other sleeping disorders out in the market. Its mission is to provide global leadership in sleep medicine and non-invasive ventilation.

Clarity Pharmaceuticals (ASX:CU6) was launched in 2010 – and is a leader in Targeted Copper Theranostics (TCT) – which aids in advancing cancer treatment. It is out to develop next-generation radiopharmaceutical products that improve treatment outcomes for children and adults with cancer. “SarbisPSMA” – is one of its developments- a tool used to diagnose pre-radical prostatectomy – and is now in its third and final phase! 

Imugene (ASX:IMU) was founded in 2012, Imugene is an immuno-oncology company developing therapies that seek to activate cancer patients’ own immune systems to fight and eradicate tumours faster. Its candidate “Vaxinia” has been granted US FDA fast-track status as it showed potential in treating bile duct cancer cells – and is now well underway in phase 1 of clinical trials. 

Investing in a successful healthcare stock can be highly profitable and can help other people in the long run. You can be investing in companies saving human lives. 

And speaking of profits, if for example – you invested $1000 towards the very end of 2008 (November) in ResMed – that investment is now worth $8600!

At the same time, the journey from development to commercialisation tends to be super expensive and also very slow. On average, the process typically takes around 10 to 15 years, but this can be longer or shorter depending on so many factors. 

It’s generally referred to as ‘capital raising’. But maybe you’ve got shares in a company that’s raised money and you’ve been a little taken aback because the value of your shares then took a hit. The announcement of a successful capital raise is often followed by a drop in share price, But why? We’ll get to that in a moment.

In 2022, there were 1060 capital raising’s on the ASX for a total of $40 billion.

Since the start of COVID, the Australian bourse has been the world’s best place to be for a capital raise, with our market clocking the highest volume compared to any other country.

If you have a shareholding in a company before a capital raise. When that company raises funds – often at a price below what someone can buy on the share market – it’s adding more shares to the pool. If you don’t take part in the raise, your holding in the company is ‘diluted’. Thus making my shares, weaker. The company’s current and potential value is spread over a great number of shares.

The opposite of this is called a consolidation – but we’ll get to that another time.

So.. when a company needs to shake the tin, questions need to be asked…

– What price is the company raising funds at?– How does that compare to the market price?– Is it at a large discount to the current price?– Will this raise ultimately lead to a boost in the company’s overall worth?

Capital raises are a necessary part of building publicly-listed companies.

The higher the discount applied to the share price for the raise, the greater the impact tends to be on the market. The market reaction tends to align with immediate information – “Someone is getting a better deal than me” But ask yourself, is the raise going to mean better outcomes in the long run? Is this company going to use this money for potential growth or has it mismanaged it?

There are so many variables, it’s always important to research, ask the right questions and of course, invest responsibility.

Blue chip stocks are well-established companies with higher market capitalisations. 

They’re generally considered reputable and financially stable for long-term investment. 

They will often pay regular dividends and are widely considered safer investments than smaller speculative high-risk companies. 

Let’s take a look at some examples of blue-chip stocks on the ASX:

CBA is one of the largest banks in Australia – and has a market cap of $167.7 billion. It pays regular dividends – recently about 4.65 per cent. While the stock has had ups and downs over the years – it has increased in value by nearly 70 per cent over the past 20 years.

BHP is a global mining and exploration company, known for minerals including iron ore, coal, copper, and oil. It paid dividends recently of about 5.8 per cent (5.79 per cent). The value of its shares is up almost 75 per cent over two decades.

Telstra is Australia’s largest telecommunications company, providing phone and data services for millions of Australians – it has a market cap of more than $43 billion and pays dividends which lately has been about 4.45 per cent (4.46 per cent). 

Woolworths has a market cap of nearly $46 billion – and the value of its shares has grown by nearly 75 per cent (by 74 per cent) in the past 20 years. So if you invested $10,000 into Woolworths in 2003, that investment is now worth $17,400!

Now: you might be wondering, what should you consider when buying shares in companies like these?

Risk appetite – are you looking for stability, or the next ten bagger? 

The more risky an investment is, the more there tends to be the potential for greater reward. For example, a stock worth 5 cents can very easily double or triple in price, meaning there is a greater reward on the upside, compared with a stock that’s already $5 or $10. But it’s important to note, these non-blue chips can just as easily crash from 5 cents to absolutely worthless.

Blue chip stocks are steady risers, there are fewer catalysts for strong short-term share price spikes than with those speculative buys that may double in a day with events such as an exploration company making a major discovery, a biotech making a medical breakthrough, or a company becoming profitable for the first time. In simple terms, short-term gains are harder to find with blue chip stocks.

Income – Is this blue chip company issuing dividend payments – and if they do – what’s the yield? 

And just like any stock you buy, it’s good to think about timing and do some research: what domestic, global, and geo-political factors are likely to affect the company’s performance moving forward? How has the company been performing – what are its debt and profit positions? 

How’s the company’s leadership performing? What are the threats and opportunities?

Check out a few charts, and make sure you’ve done your research. 

And before we wrap up, we shall leave you with the very words of world-famous casino expert Mark Pilarski, who once said:

“The smarter you play, the luckier you’ll be”

Housing is amongst the most expensive in the world, and globally: transportation is the third most expensive, and with recent inflation, food has been rising by 7.5 per cent a year.

So how can the average person find money left over to get ahead, have a bit of fun – and most importantly – to invest?

Well here’s something to think about.

If you were to save less than $100 a week – or $5000 a year just in a bank account every year for 20 years at a compound interest rate of five per cent – you could comfortably accrue close to $180,000. Imagine what investments that would be possible then.

There is an approach, and it may be old-fashioned – but it can still work. All it’ll take is a bit of commitment to saving.

Here are twelve simple ways to save money in Australia!

Figure out how much you spend and keep track of all your expenses – every coffee, every grocery purchase and every trip to the petrol station – along with your regular monthly bills of course. Once you know what you’re spending, you’ll see where there might be opportunities to save a portion of your monthly earnings.

Having a plan is one thing but setting it in motion and sticking to it is the challenge. Record your expenses on paper, a spreadsheet – or use an easy-to-use app. 

Identify non-essential items or services to cut from your monthly budget: unused subscriptions, dining out, and avoiding unnecessary shopping sprees. If you have a gym membership you rarely use, consider cancelling it and opt for free or low-cost fitness alternatives such as outdoor walks and runs, home workouts or community centre activities

Think about what you want to save for, be it in the short-term (one to three years) – say for a holiday – or longer term (five years or more), for a house or unit deposit.

Compare prices, buy by the specials, use loyalty and discount vouchers and where possible, buy in bulk. Look for cheaper cuts of meat, buy fruit and vegetables that are in season and remember that the cheaper supermarket brands can help you save.

Eating out is usually more expensive than cooking – especially for couples and families. Not only is home cooking cheaper, but it also gives you control over the ingredients you use and the portions you eat. Leftovers can be frozen for later and can save you from buying lunches.

Cutting down on alcohol can save your health and your money. The average Australian spends $32 a week on alcohol. That adds up to $1664 a year. And of course, quit smoking too.

Parking in cities is expensive, let alone the cost of fuel and your vehicle’s wear and tear. Where possible use public transport or carpool with others in your area. This will not only save you money, but you can feel good that it’s also great for the environment.

Switch off lights and standby lights around the house when you can, and unplug devices when not in use. Heaters and coolers tend to be particularly energy-thirsty. Your electricity provider will have more information and tips on how to cut down on your power bill. Solar power is also worth a shot.

If you don’t have one already, your bank can help you set one up. Unlike a debit account which most people tend to use and abuse, a savings account is used as a tool to help you put money aside. It’s a deposit account specifically designed for saving cash. If you have a home loan, an offset account can also be a good way to watch savings grow, whilst reducing the amount of interest you pay on your mortgage.

Install low-flow shower heads and taps around the house. Fix any water leaks promptly and use water-saving practices such as turning off your taps while brushing your teeth. Wait till you have a full load before you do your laundry.

Will a phone and home internet bundle be cheaper than separate plans or pre-paid? Browse around, and find the optimal bundle.

By implementing these super simple, yet effective strategies, you can start putting some money aside and start achieving those goals even amidst inflationary headwinds!  

And as Warren Buffet once said:

“Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.”

They represent both extremes: the market running hot, and, when it’s not.

A bull market is when asset prices, such as shares, are climbing or are expected to rise significantly.

It is a period typically marked by optimism, investor confidence, and positive economic indicators, such as low unemployment and increasing corporate profits.

In a bull market, investors are generally more willing to buy shares because they expect they’ll keep making money.

A bear market is the exact opposite – it’s a period during which share prices are falling or expected to fall significantly.

It is characterised by pessimism, investor fear, and negative economic indicators. It may be triggered by recession, financial crises, or geopolitical events – all things that dampen investor confidence.

In a bear market, many investors tend to be more cautious and they may sell off their investments to avoid further losses.

The ASX200 recently experienced two bull markets – and as a surprise to many, they happened in 2020, the year the COVID pandemic hit. The index had been in a bull market phase, on an upward run right up until the virus hit.

Then there was a severe correction – one of the shortest, but most dramatic bear markets ever seen; it shaved 37 per cent off the ASX200.

But that old bull got up, dusted itself off, and from mid-April 2020 it ran again.

In 1987, Australia’s steepest bear market fall was sparked by the infamous “Black Monday” in the US. That day, the Dow Jones lost almost 22 per cent of its worth, sparking a global stock market decline.

Black Monday hit Australia on Tuesday, October 20th 1987, seeing the ASX crash 26 per cent that day alone. Over just a few weeks, the index plunged 50 per cent.

Since then, the other bear market to mention came with the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), which again was triggered in the US in 2007. That bear clawed 55 per cent out of the Australian market in 14 months.

So getting down to the nitty-gritty. Is it better to invest in a bull or a bear?

Short of a crystal ball; there’s no easy answer to this question, but, let’s take a quick look at a quote by the infamous Warren Buffet, who once said:

“Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy only when others are fearful.”