As earnings season wound down, the latter half of my month was spent getting embarrassingly burnt by the Indonesian sun and discovering that Travelan supplements are no competition for the elusive Bali belly.

Here are my favourite picks of the month:

Young & Invested

Are ETF investors missing the bigger picture?

The ETF industry is booming. Several global asset managers are looking toward our shores for a slice of the Aussie ETF market. I looked at whether the surge of new products and entrants will have a positive impact on investors, or if we need to be weary of falling victim to attention-based strategies.

Can this strategy pick better stocks?

It’s well documented that only a handful of companies generate significant returns whilst majority fall into the abyss. As an ETF enthusiast, I currently hold shares in only one company. In this edition, I tilted my focus to one of the attributes that may lead to success – the strong presence of a founder.

Should you invest in emerging markets?

Renewed curiosity about emerging markets amongst both professional and retail investors takes the stage. I dove under the chaos of debt defaults and political risk to unpack the elusive market space and evaluate whether they hold a place in young investor portfolios.

More insights

Is this the best emerging market ETF on the ASX?

I recently explored the renewed investor interest in the emerging market space and how investors can gain exposure. One fund that stuck out to me for its consistent outperformance and tailored strategy was VanEck’s MSCI Multifactor Emerging Markets Equity ETF EMKT. I looked at whether factor exposure was the way to approach emerging markets.

The role of gold in an investor portfolio

What Warren Buffett once described as a “useless” asset has regained substantial momentum in recent years, driven by a combination of macroeconomic, structural, and geopolitical factors. I shared insights from Morningstar’s Manager Research teams across Asia looking at the various gold investment strategies an investor can take.

ASX opportunities after earnings season

This reporting season was characterised by a level of volatility we haven’t seen in years. Given stretched valuations, I discussed two stocks that have since come into undervalued territory either due to price swings or fair value upgrades.

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