![Capital losses can offset capital gains.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/p/7/p/8/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.gwp7r4.png/1497317629342.jpg)
Investing
![Capital losses can offset capital gains.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/p/7/p/8/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.gwp7r4.png/1497317629342.jpg)
Australia's most respected companies
![Biopharmaceutical company CSL has a world-class reputation.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/h/4/p/l/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwo6k1.png/1496987410209.jpg)
The US list of most respected companies is out. Who would make the cut here?
Noel Whittaker's verdict after a year of using micro-investment app Acorns
![The Acorns app rounds up each purchase you make and stores it in an investment portfolio for you.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/y/d/m/b/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwnfil.png/1497341293014.jpg)
For years I have been going on about the power of investing small sums of money.
Women make better investors than men
![Sallie Krawcheck, formerly chief executive of Citigroup and Bank of America, says for a time she bought into the myth ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/n/d/g/x/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwndj8.png/1497283103702.jpg)
Women are more risk averse and this translates positively in returns.
Index funds v actively managed funds
![Active funds have higher fees, so they need to consistently outperform the market to earn their keep.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/u/a/u/s/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwncje.png/1496903421396.jpg)
For a combination of reasons, index-following managed and exchange traded funds have become increasingly popular with both individual and institutional investors.
Experts warn over the The Next Big Thing in investing
![The next investment trend to hit our shores is "smart beta" exchange traded funds (ETFs).](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/4/4/o/x/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwksuy.png/1496931771937.jpg)
Are providers being too clever with the latest breed of the funds that use "smart beta" strategies that increase the risks for investors and have fees twice that of vanilla exchange traded funds (ETFs).
It's not too late to boost your tax deductions
![With tax time approaching, it's important for investors to make their deductions work for them.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/z/r/y/9/t/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwla8s.png/1496809166164.jpg)
This year was going to be different.
Lower returns ahead for investors
![Investment returns will grow more slowly than during the post-GFC recovery.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/h/y/9/d/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwhy1c.png/1496478530382.jpg)
So far, financial year superannuation fund returns have been good with the prospect of double digit returns if world share markets don't tank in June.
Shares Race ends with most contestants under water
![Ainsworth Game Technology, the poker machine maker, is the best-performing stock tip of all.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/m/t/x/0/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwit9j.png/1496368110581.jpg)
The Shares Race has ended with a whimper, as six of our eight tipsters finished the four-week race with less than their original $100,000.
The only insider info on ASX companies that's legal
![When directors buy or sell shares in their companies, they must disclose this to the ASX and it's public information.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/f/b/n/w/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwfa84.png/1496739087965.jpg)
You can't read company directors' minds, but you can track when they buy and sell shares.
Tipsters struggle to make headway in lacklustre sharemarket
![The Perth-based real estate and financial services group Ausnet Financial Services is the best-performer of the Shares ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/z/2/r/p/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwdmk4.png/1495780937355.jpg)
Another lacklustre week for the sharemarket has left our tipsters largely treading water in week three of the four-week Shares Race.
What the Moneyball story teaches us about investment
![Brad Pitt as Billy Beane and Jonah Hill as Peter Brand in 2011 movie <i>Moneyball</i>. Brand is the fictionalised ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/d/6/e/t/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwd6cw.png/1495788620701.jpg)
Does share market investment require a technology-driven approach, or is it not that simple?
Crowdfunding is a force for good, but it's not like going shopping
![Ten-year-old Grace Gregson from year 5 at Seaforth Public School, <i>Crinkling News</i> founder and editor Saffron ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/6/n/5/7/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw951a.png/1495596256017.jpg)
Crowdfunding platforms democratise the funding of good ideas, but supporters need to go in with their eyes open.
Fairfax Media best pick of the week as bidding war hots up
![Fairfax Media's share price surged on the back of interest from two US private equity firms.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/1/2/l/4/j/m/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw8h3d.png/1495157643876.jpg)
Our tipsters are left in the red in week two of the four-week Shares Race, following the midweek sell-off on Australian and global sharemarkets.
The one thing most investors get wrong
![Remember: An investment's tax benefits are the cream on the cake.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/4/p/8/9/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw7lft.png/1495206701987.jpg)
There is anecdotal evidence that regulatory measures and budget proposals are having an effect on the housing market, which is a sad reflection on the mentality of the average property investor.
'Trading shares is now a poor man's game'
![Safety has long been the selling point for the Volvo.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/4/w/v/b/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw4wjt.png/1494924588079.jpg)
The popularity of exchange-traded funds is overstated in Australia, but they play an important role.
Dartboard leads the pack out of the gate with gold producer pick
![Gold producer Blackham Resources is the most strongly-performing stock in week one of the Shares Race .](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/f/b/s/6/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw3b7z.png/1494555685657.jpg)
The Dartboard's on top in week one of the new four-week Shares Race with its "pick" of Blackham Resources the strongest performer so far.
The budget's lesson for bank shareholders
![The bank tax will affect the Big 4 banks, plus Macquarie Group.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/1/0/m/k/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw2t28.png/1496748089276.jpg)
Seemingly from out of the blue, Treasurer Scott Morrison decided that the big banks should pay a little more in tax.
If you want to avoid an unwelcome tax slug it's time to get moving
![It's time for action.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/p/d/a/n/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw1axm.png/1496129862837.jpg)
What you might want to consider doing before the end of the financial year to minimise losses and maximise opportunities.
It's bonds to the rescue as the needle points up for interest rates
![Danica Hampton is Head of Investment Specialists at Citi Wealth](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/z/b/o/b/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvzb5j.png/1493982985980.jpg)
Younger investors may never have made decisions in the environment we are heading into.
The place of LICs in an investment strategy
![If you use a LIC, you can concentrate your energy on trying to time the market.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/w/8/6/i/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvw83n.png/1495142230512.jpg)
Want to get some more time at the weekend? Try a different investment approach.
Telstra's a tough call for its one million shareholders
![Telstra's share price is under pressure as mobile competition increases.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/j/w/7/r/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvutqr.png/1493605520104.jpg)
Telstra's more than one million shareholders will not be pleased with the sustained slide in the share price since the start of this year to be trading in the low $4 range now.
The only racer in the black takes line honours as four-week race ends
![Electro Optic Systems, which supplies technology to the aerospace and defence markets, is the best-performing stock tip ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/5/t/c/g/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvueo0.png/1493348332900.jpg)
Fairfax journalist Phil Baker wins the four-week shares race after making modest gains from a good portion of his 10-stock portfolio.
Buying property with your super fund has drawbacks
![If you're investing in property, you're probably better off buying it in your personal name than your self-managed super ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/b/g/f/z/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvt6ke.png/1493249063492.jpg)
Whether or not the government removes the ability of self-managed super funds to borrow to purchase property or other investments, the implications for investors are relatively minor.
How to protect yourself from housing bubble downside
![As BrickX chief executive, Anthony Millet heads a fintech start-up that offers a different way to invest in residential ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/g/9/d/5/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvr7e2.png/1493159122470.jpg)
When looking at investing in property, you need to build in a buffer to help you withstand any dramatic changes.
The best-performing asset class of the past five years
![A-REITs have done very well, including ALE Property Group, which owns pubs.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/d/z/4/1/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvoh7d.png/1493132815358.jpg)
The best-performing asset class of the past five years are the listed trusts that own commercial property.
Margin loans are bad for your financial health
![Leverage magnifies both losses and gains.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/h/k/u/e/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvppku.png/1492751651408.jpg)
Borrowing to invest. The idea is almost as old as investing itself.
Tipsters lose ground as share prices fall across the board
![Mineral sands producer Mineral Deposits is the best-performing stock so far.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/1/0/7/h/x/b/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvpaq2.png/1492743583039.jpg)
It's been a tough week for our tipsters, with all of them slipping in week three of the four-week Shares Race.
The lower the yield, the higher the cost of fees
![<p>](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/m/i/i/8/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvmiel.png/1492521929369.jpg)
Several factors mean we shouldn't be so easily fooled about fees now – well, that's the theory.
Motley Fool: What China collapse?
![A few months ago the smartest people in finance were waxing lyrical on whether the Chinese landing would be "hard" or ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170613084531im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/j/a/x/m/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvm0if.png/1496708239793.jpg)
What's the greatest threat to the world economy and our economic prosperity?