Wealth Editor, The Australian. Talker on TV and Radio. Host of the Money Puzzle podcast. Unlikely cricket fan
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Articles by James Kirby
UniSuper will ride the sharemarket but sit out the Firmus float says investment chief
Firmus Technologies’ blockbuster $44bn float is too speculative for UniSuper, with chief investment officer John Pearce warning the loss-making AI company will burn cash for years and keep tapping investors for more money. But Pearce said Australia’s biggest super funds can still achieve double-digit returns this year without backing high-risk AI floats, as strong US corporate profits and a super cycle in capital investment fuel further sharemarket gains.
Investors hedge their bets on US stocks against Aussie dollar risks
James Kirby at The Australian In the space of a year, Australian share investors have doubled their level of hedging on overseas stocks. What's happening? It's not like the risks surrounding the Australian dollar have suddenly doubled. But we do know that Australian investors have been incrementally shifting their investment savings offshore, especially on to Wall Street, for a decade. What's more, those early movers who pioneered the move into global markets have been doing very well indeed.
Why career choices beat cutting spending to build real wealth
James Kirby at The Australian Cut back on smashed avocado, cancel the streaming subscriptions, skip the odd Uber Eats order. For years, this has been the advice dished out to help build wealth. But according to one former Deloitte partner turned career strategist, most people are optimising the wrong side of the ledger entirely.
Bond market turmoil: why cash and shares may be winners
James Kirby at The Australian For most investors, the only time they hear about the bond markets is when there is trouble. Bond markets hit the headlines this week after yields sat above 5 per cent – a level briefly touched in 2023 and otherwise not seen since 2007 as traders grew concerned about US government debt and rising inflation. It's a combination that heaped pressure on the Federal Reserve to lift interest rates.
why cash and shares may be winners
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Investors spot golden opportunity to buy the dip
James Kirby at The Australian Australian investors have been buying gold with their ears pinned back in a spending spree that is set to break the record struck at the top of the breakout rally of late 2025. In a full-blooded version of buying the dip, internal figures from the exchange-traded funds market show dollar inflows into gold bullion hit $509m between the start of July and the end of August.
Targeting Shame and Guilt in Psychotherapy: From Conceptual Understanding to Diverse Therapeutic Approaches
1 Shame and Guilt: Powerful Self-Conscious Emotions A patient comes to therapy; he says he's depressed. You inquire further and he says, “I'm useless.” You ask what makes him say that. He goes on and says, “I have to be, I'm here aren't I? I can't even fix myself.” This kind of dialogue provides hints into how the client experiences himself and how he believes he is experienced in the eyes of others.
Home price downturn accelerates as analysts tip fall up to 15pc
James Kirby at The Australian The nation's property market is heading for its biggest downturn since the 1980s, with leading analysts tipping the rout to accelerate and drive prices down by as much as 15%. Housing economist Cameron Kusher said the falls would be bigger than the market's previous two slumps. Australia's last two nationwide house price downturns – in 2017 and 2022 – both finished with a peak-to-trough drop of 8%.
Mortgage or super for retirement: Best strategy for spare cash
James Kirby at The Australian It's one of the biggest questions for investors: What to do with spare money, put it in the mortgage or into super? And unlike other enduring questions – should you own your own home? (yes, always) and how much should I have in super ? (as much as possible) – the answer is always changing.
Tax tips and traps when investing in your children
How do I invest for my kids? It’s one of the most common questions financial advisers face from investors. Many investors believe there must surely be some special tax arrangements for this elementary dimension of investment activity. In reality, there is very little. But there are special accounts for minors, special products aimed at paying school fees, and optimal ways of distributing money from the bank of mum and dad.
Tax tips and traps when investing in your children
James Kirby at The Australian How do I invest for my kids? It's one of the most common questions financial advisers face from investors. Many investors believe there must surely be some special tax arrangements for this elementary dimension of investment activity. In reality, there is very little. But there are special accounts for minors, special products aimed at paying school fees, and optimal ways of distributing money from the bank of mum and dad.
Why hot ASX healthcare stocks are now a 'safe growth' bet: expert
James Kirby at The Australian Healthcare stocks are suddenly the hottest part of the ASX. After the disaster at bellwether stock CSL, the overseas misadventures of Ramsay and even a downgrade this year for sector stalwart Cochlear , it seemed healthcare stocks were consigned to the dustbin. But that's all over now. The market's basket of healthcare stocks have risen more than 20 per cent in a month.
Why hot ASX healthcare stocks are now a ‘safe growth’ bet: expert
Healthcare stocks are suddenly the hottest part of the ASX. After the disaster at bellwether stock CSL, the overseas misadventures of Ramsay and even a downgrade this year for sector stalwart Cochlear, it seemed healthcare stocks were consigned to the dustbin. But that’s all over now. The market’s basket of healthcare stocks have risen more than 20 per cent in a month. Put that another way, they have gained five times more in the last four weeks than the wider ASX has gained over the year to date.
Spring listings flood to test weakened property market
James Kirby at The Australian Homeowners and investors have been warned to brace for a surge in property listings over coming weeks as the spring selling season threatens to bring a wave of fresh listings onto a weakened residential market. The warning from one of Australia's top property analysts comes as the Reserve Bank of Australia kept the door open for more rate hikes and a Sydney home builder collapsed with $3.6bn in debts.
Google and SpaceX mega deals lure income-hungry investors
James Kirby at The Australian Two monster deals launched this year carry the power to change forever the way Australians invest. The remarkable success of separate moves by Google and SpaceX to directly approach local investors means the shift towards Wall Street has reached a new level.
Owner-occupier suburbs will thrive as investor zones face falls
James Kirby at The Australian The suburbs Australian investors have flocked to for their affordability and easy entry points are now shaping up as the biggest losers in the property downturn banks are warning about, which could catch thousands of portfolio landlords off guard. While the major banks trade in headline-grabbing forecasts of double-digit price falls , property strategists argue that in reality the impact will be highly variable.
Owner-occupier suburbs will thrive as investor zones face falls
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Google and SpaceX mega deals lure income-hungry investors
Two monster deals launched this year carry the power to change forever the way Australians invest. The remarkable success of separate moves by Google and SpaceX to directly approach local investors means the shift towards Wall Street has reached a new level. Australian share investors have already been frustrated by a shrinking ASX, while the closure of the hybrid market – which investors used as a proxy for bonds – meant that income-seeking investors were also facing a reduced choice.
CBA the bank stock most at risk in housing downturn
James Kirby at The Australian The property market slump is only just starting to hit and Commonwealth Bank is the stock most likely heading for the steepest fall as a result. Earnings results across the banking sector last week – including the full-year profit result from CBA – were in line with expectations. But investors don't look in the rear-view mirror, rather it's all about future expectations, and on that front the news is grim.
CGT estate planning gaps remain for death and divorce
James Kirby at The Australian The government's latest attempt to show how wills and estate plans will be treated following the budget confirms testamentary discretionary trusts will be exempt from a new minimum 30% tax, but leaves residual issues around death and divorce unresolved.
Top dividend stocks as tax changes drive investor pivot
James Kirby at The Australian Franked dividends escaped the Albanese government's sweeping tax crackdown, with investors now switching their focus to stocks paying an income rather than chasing strong capital growth. That rebound in demand for blue-chip dividend stocks is due to the government's changes to capital gains tax, which taxes capital growth more heavily than income.
Budget drives investor pivot to higher-risk commercial property
James Kirby at The Australian Commercial property is preparing for an influx of mum-and-dad investors fleeing from the residential market where the full sweep of budget tax changes are starting to bite. On many measures it's an investment that stacks up. Its recent returns are on par with residential investments. But there's an extra sting in the tail and advisers warn it pays to tread carefully and diligently.
Self-funded retirees hit by 30pc top-up tax on investments
James Kirby at The Australian The tax advantages of retirement have been dealt a sharp blow with a little-reported measure aiming to curtail any self-funded retiree looking to cleverly escape the government's minimum capital gains tax floor of 30%. Under previous arrangements, investors could build wealth and then sell assets when they hit retirement and their marginal tax rates drop to as little as zero. This has allowed many to avoid being stung with a CGT bill.
Housing double whammy: Soaring rents as home prices fall
James Kirby at The Australian Australia's housing market is delivering the worst of both worlds with home prices declining as rents climb at twice rate of inflation, putting further pressure on the first-home buyers who were supposed to benefit from the government's budget tax changes. Property analysts expect rents to continue rising in the months ahead as the nation's army of private investors brace for the double impact of sweeping budget changes and higher borrowing costs.
Soaring rents as home prices fall
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AI bubble fears grow as traditional safe havens disappear
James Kirby at The Australian The most alarming feature of this year's global sharemarket boom is not the obvious risk of an AI bubble but the lack of safe places for investors to put their money. AI mania has infiltrated every corner of investment activity. Why did big super funds beat all rivals last year? Because they had the largest exposure to the AI boom Why did mining stocks save the ASX from going backwards?
Family home exemption for age pension could be tax target
James Kirby at The Australian A push for “intergenerational fairness” has underpinned the government's sweeping changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing, but left alone to date is the most obvious target: access to the age pension. Will it be the next domino to fall? Getting the pension – or a part pension – has always been useful.
Property workarounds to help beat budget tax rules
Inside the investment sector, the smart money is already planning how to successfully invest post-budget. Seasoned investors will know that the more you understand how the tax system works, the more you can make it work for you. For example, did you know you can still borrow for residential property and use funds inside a self-managed super fund for a deposit? Or were you aware that an estimated seven million people can still negatively gear older properties?
Elon Musk and SpaceX mark a game-changer for share investing
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Elon Musk and SpaceX mark a game-changer for share investing
The float of Elon Musk’s SpaceX has changed Australian share investing forever. In its first few days trading on Wall Street, the stock is up about 40 per cent. It’s an overpriced speculative play linked to the whims of a single entrepreneur. On that basis alone, it’s an imperfect prototype for a new era of Australian access to Wall Street. But that’s not the point.
Owners urged to keep hold of geared property
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‘Don’t Sell’: Owners urged to keep hold of geared property
The government’s plans for intergenerational fairness through a clampdown on negative gearing may backfire, with wealth advisers telling older Australians to hang on to their negatively geared property for as long as possible.
Budget negative gearing changes could force changes in rental property ownership
James Kirby at The Australian A mass exit of mum-and-dad investors looks set to hit the residential property market as the government prepares to terminate negative gearing tax breaks for existing properties. But who will replace them? Property experts have raised the prospect that major institutional investors – similar to thegiant corporate landlords now in place across the US– will move into the local market.
Budget negative gearing changes could force changes in rental property ownership
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Interest rate hikes hit older homeowners harder than ever before
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Interest rate hikes hit older homeowners harder than ever before
Interest rate hikes are just not the same anymore. Once upon a time, they only hit the mortgage belt, that fabled housing strip in the suburbs populated by young families. Today, the RBA’s weapon of choice also lands heavily on older Australians The shift has been steady but irreversible. Houses are bought later in life, mortgages last longer and before you know it you are 55 with a mortgage that’s miles away from being paid off.
‘Greatest opportunity in decades’ in start-up investing
Wealthy investors are looking beyond the expected lift in capital gains tax looming in next week’s federal budget, with top advisers pointing smart money towards what Morgan Stanley describes as “the greatest opportunity in decades”. They’re taking a second look at the 10-year-old tax break offered to investors in start-up companies.
The six investment biases that may be sabotaging your wealth
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The six investment biases that may be sabotaging your wealth
Are you biased, and is it holding you back as an investor? I don’t know about you, but I reckon as an investor I spend most of my time fighting off just about every single bias that pops up in behavioural economics 101. Property portfolio strategist Rasti Vaibhav knows a lot about the in-built biases that tend to restrain property investors from success. But it turns out there are parallel bias problems that are common among all investors, especially in the sharemarket.
Key strategies to boost your retirement wealth in your 60s
James Kirby at The Australian Building wealth in your 60s is all about the time squeeze you now face in the lead-up to the point you stop earning a salary. In some ways, building wealth at this stage of life is easier than you might think. You may have more disposable income than you had in the past, you might have paid off your mortgage, and no doubt you have become a better investor over the years.
Rents climb higher than inflation as accommodation squeeze tightens
Rents are on the rise again, extending the housing crisis and changing the game for property investors. Forecasters had initially expected rent increases to flatten this year and trend in line with inflation, while vacancy rates were expected to move higher. But new numbers suggest a nationwide increase in rent costs of more than 5% over the past year.
Rising rates and tax changes present double threat to homeownership
James Kirby at The Australian Higher interest rates and a looming downturn in home prices in Melbourne and Sydney are set to undercut the homeownership plans for a generation of younger Australians. In a development that will represent the exact opposite of the government's much vaunted push to improve “intergenerational fairness”, the constriction of key pathways to homeownership may instead inflame the generational divide.
Investors retreat from Wall Street in flight to ASX during Iran crisis
Australian investors have switched money out of Wall Street and back onto the ASX in a move toward perceived safety during the Iran war crisis. In a reversal of a trend in place since 2023, where Australian passive investors have been steadily loading up on US shares, the amount of money flowing daily into exchange-traded fund house Betashares is now roughly 50-50 between domestic and international.
Odds firm on new CGT property rate
James Kirby at The Australian With the federal budget just five weeks away, a new capital gains tax ‘discount rate' of 33 per cent is now widely assumed to be on the cards along with a potential limit of two negatively geared properties per person.
Tactics for property investors as capital gains tax changes loom
James Kirby at The Australian As property investors brace for changes to capital gains tax – and possible limits to negative gearing – advisers are pointing to a strategy that could cushion the worst effects from what many are calling “the new wealth tax”. After a recent Senate inquiry linked CGT rules to “intergenerational fairness” in housing , it is now almost certain rules for CGT treatment of investment property will be tightened .
Negative equity risk looms for low-deposit homebuyers
First-time buyers using the government’s low-deposit scheme are facing an elevated risk of having loans worth more than their homes, say property experts. The double threat of more rate rises and softer house prices in the major cities has put thousands of new buyers at risk. “If we hit a period with prices going backwards and rates rising that’s going to be difficult for all first-home buyers,” Veronica Morgan, who runs the Buyer’s Academy, tells The Australian’s The Money Puzzle podcast.
SMSFs fight back as government threatens fee for advisers they don’t use
Self-managed super fund operators are outperforming the big end of town, yet the government is now mulling a proposal to add a completely inappropriate extra fee on the sector. The threat to include SMSFs in a highly controversial financial adviser compensation levy would be debatable at any time, but all the more so when we discover that most SMSF investors don’t use advisers anyway.
Rush to self-managed super funds leaves investors with low balances behind
James Kirby at The Australian Self-managed super funds are surging in popularity as money flows out of big super. But if you are thinking of joining the rush, make sure you have enough money in your fund. The total number of SMSFs has now climbed to a record 661,000, a 7 per cent increase year on year. Independent investors have used SMSFs for years, with strong evidence that many have better returns than big funds.
Should your extra cash go into super or your family home?
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Should your extra cash go into super or your family home?
James Kirby at The Australian For at least a generation, Australians have been urged to put every spare dollar into super. But does that make sense any longer? Mortgage rates have tripled from 2 per cent to 6 per cent since Covid, meanwhile compulsory super demands 12 per cent of your salary goes towards your retirement fund. On the latest edition of The Australian's The Money Puzzle podcast we posed the question afresh: Should you put your extra dollars into your super or the family home?
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