Livewire Markets

"A trifecta of resiliency, income and growth" and the market is sleeping on it

2.6K views · 13h ago · 28:28

"The market's not appreciating how much and how long this is really going to last for." Sarah Lau, portfolio manager of Resolution Capital’s Global Listed Infrastructure Fund (ASX: RIIF), is talking about the investment needed in electricity networks over the coming decades which she argues is just the start of a generational cycle for the sector.

Topics: Generational Super Cycle · Electricity Demand Drivers · CapEx to Shareholder Returns · Stock Selection & Social Licence · Inflation Hedging Mechanisms · Income vs. Growth Role

AI is driving the first real growth in Australian energy demand in 20 years

1.2K views · 2d ago · 22:07

Some people might look at infrastructure and throw it into the boring investment basket. It’s hard to blame them, right? It’s meant to be the steady, predictable part of a portfolio: toll roads, airports and ports quietly collecting revenue year after year. Actually, that sounds pretty good.

Topics: Welcome and introduction to EQT’s Sam Franklin · How the definition of infrastructure has evolved over the past 20 years · Why companies are staying private longer · The symbiosis between public and private markets in infrastructure · Steady long-term returns versus short-term dividend pressure · How EQT thinks about the exit and the return to public markets

Higher yield, lower rate risk - where ABS fits in a portfolio

1.5K views · 2d ago · 13:49

Guest: Chris Whitcombe

As interest rate volatility and economic uncertainty persist, fixed income investors are actively searching for defensive yield that won't take a hit from duration risk. Enter Asset-Backed Securities (ABS). In this interview, Livewire’s Anna Dadic sits down with Chris Whitcombe, Lead Portfolio Manager of the Challenger Investment Management Global ABS Fund, to take a deep dive into the mechanics and opportunities within the ABS universe.

Topics: What Are Asset-Backed Securities (ABS)? · ABS vs. Traditional Corporate Bonds · How to Assess Loan Quality & Collateral · Performance in a Slowdown or Credit Crunch · Household Debt Pressures & Default Risk · Where ABS Fits in a Diversified Portfolio

Buy Hold Sell: 5 ASX fallen angels prime for a comeback

7.2K views · 3d ago · 12:59

Guest: Buy Hold Sell

There’s an almost irresistible pull to hunting through a bargain bin. Suddenly, things you’d never normally consider start looking attractive. You get brave. You convince yourself you can pull off ruffles and pastels. The same thing happens in the market. We’ve all watched a former market darling shed 40% of its value and thought - how much worse can it get?

Topics: Orora (ASX: ORA) · Ramsay Health Care (ASX: RMC) · IDP Education (ASX: IEL) · Siteminder (ASX: SDR) · Cochlear (ASX: COH)

Why value’s best run in years has little to do with cheap stocks

3K views · 3d ago · 14:39

Investors trying to make sense of today’s AI-led market often compare it to the dot-com boom. Dr David Walsh, Head of Investments at RQI Investors, says the comparison holds in some ways but not others. The dot-com era was built on telecom, fibre and software platforms, and “anything with dot-com in its name ran very strongly”. (We all know how that ended.)

Topics: AI vs. the Dot-Com Bubble · Are We in a "Quant Spring"? · Why RQI Underweights Tech and the US · Stock Case Study: Samsung vs. SK Hynix · The Australian Junk Rally & Value Traps · How RQI Defines "Low Quality"

The procrastinator vs. the part-time retiree: How to invest $2 million

5.7K views · 5d ago · 18:01

Two retirees have $2 million each. One keeps working part-time. The other has stopped working but hasn’t made a plan for their money. How would you build a portfolio for each? Adam Dawes joins Livewire’s Vishal Teckchandani to walk through both portfolios, from the stocks and ETFs he’d use to why he’d give one retiree more room for growth and the other a bigger defensive allocation.

Topics: Setting the scene · What defines a 'Blender' and 'Disengaged' retiree? · The importance of building budgets and planning in retirement · Top tips and risks for Blenders and Disengaged retirees

Buy Hold Sell: 6 ASX stocks built to handle tough conditions

10K views · 6d ago · 16:05

Guest: Buy Hold Sell

Even when households tighten their belts, the groceries still need buying, the phone bill needs paying and hospitals need to keep running. It’s easy to see why investors turn to essential goods and services when the outlook gets tougher.

Topics: Coles (ASX: COL) · Telstra (ASX: TLS) · HMC Capital (ASX: HMC) · Pro Medicus (ASX: PME) · NextDC (ASX: NXT) · Ramelius Resources (ASX: RMS)

A crash is coming, but it's not the end of the bull market

5.9K views · 1w ago · 15:06

A stock market crash could arrive in the next few months, but that doesn't mean investors need to panic just yet, says Longview Economics' Chris Watling. A tightening of liquidity means we could get a mid-cycle correction but AI and a strong global economy should see the bull market continue for a few years.

Topics: Is a crash coming? · The picture in Europe · AI and its impacts · Where there's still value · The impact of elections · The big risks

“I want the volatility”: Josh Cummings sees opportunity in the AI shakeout

1.9K views · 1w ago · 30:21

Guest: Josh Cummings

Markets have whipped between geopolitical energy shocks and a historic multi-trillion-dollar AI buildout, leaving investors wondering where the real organic growth is hiding.

Topics: Macro Outlook: Cost of Capital & Healthy Consumers · Why Active Stock Pickers Thrive at 5% Rates · Big Tech's $2T AI Capex: A Dot-Com Bubble Replay? · AI's Real Frontier: Digitising Perishables & Consumables · Convenience Moats: Quick Commerce · Tech Disruption, Labour Fears & "Naked Swimmers"

Buy Hold Sell: 5 ASX ‘stayers’ built to go the distance

13K views · 1w ago · 19:33

Guest: Buy Hold Sell

A few good years can make a business look like a long-term winner. But what gives it the staying power to keep delivering over the next five or 10? It’s an appealing prospect for investors: find a handful of businesses that can keep growing their earnings, hold on, and give compounding time to work. The challenge is recognising which companies have that endurance – and how much you should pay to own them.

Topics: Wesfarmers (ASX: WES) · REA Group (ASX: REA) · TechnologyOne (ASX: TNE) · BHP Group (ASX: BHP) · Pinnacle (ASX: PNI)

Chris Stott: The small-cap buying opportunity is still ahead

5.2K views · 1w ago · 49:32

Guest: Chris Stott

Small industrials have fallen more than 20% from their highs, but Chris Stott thinks the best buying opportunity is still ahead. So what would convince him it’s time to buy? In this episode of The Rules of Investing, 1851 Capital’s CIO explains the signals he’s watching, why he’s sold his AI infrastructure winners, and where he’s finding value while he waits.

Topics: Launching 1851 and managing the fund’s size · Why Stott has sold his AI infrastructure winners · Is the small-cap buying opportunity still ahead? · The signals that could mark a turning point · Finding growth and the case for COG Financial · Bapcor and the turnaround thesis

Buy Hold Sell: 5 high dividend paying stocks

12K views · 1w ago · 14:22

Guest: Buy Hold Sell

Income is back with a vengeance in 2026. A recent survey of 1,400 Livewire readers revealed that 57% plan to increase their exposure to high-dividend stocks this year. Yet Australian income investors face a persistent concentration trap: just seven stocks across two industries generate half of the entire ASX 200 dividend pool. Shifting focus from last week's consistent dividend growers, we look at companies offering yields above the broader market benchmark.

Topics: Bank reporting season preview · Mining sector outlook · Telstra (ASX:TLS) · Woodside Energy (ASX:WDS) · AGL Energy (ASX:AGL) · Suncorp Group (ASX:SUN)

‘Cheap, cheap, cheap’: Luke Laretive on small caps that could double

30K views · 2w ago · 29:36

The ASX small-cap index is down 17% over the past 12 months and flirting with bear-market territory. It’s been a brutal period for investors in this end of the market, which is sensitive to an economic slowdown and rising interest rates. Seneca’s Luke Laretive says the backdrop resembles October 2022, when the Small Ords fell 26%. It then rose 53% over the next three years.

Topics: What investors should pay attention to right now · Making money in small caps · The small cap set up for 2027 · Stocks Luke thinks can double · What looks expensive and what looks cheap? · Simplicity sells, complexity is where you’ll find value