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I was fascinated by this morning’s Australian Financial Review (AFR) article, which pointed out markets appear to be disconnected from reality in the Middle East.

Comparing the current and more disruptive war in the Middle East to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which was far less disruptive to energy markets, the author notes:

“Back in 2022, Brent crude peaked at $US139 a barrel, compared with $US102 now. Back then, European gas peaked at €339 a megawatt hour, compared with €51 now. Back then, the price of urea, an oil by-product vital in the production of fertilisers, peaked at $US910 a tonne, compared with $US660 now. Back then, the S&P 500 fell 25 per cent peak-to-trough. Today, the index is down just 5.5 per cent from its January record high.” Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Economics, Global markets, Market commentary.

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In this week’s video insight, I take a closer look at the upcoming SpaceX IPO and some of the concerns being raised by critics. While many investors expect the listing to be a major success, I explore questions around the company’s unprecedented valuation, the folding of other Elon Musk ventures into SpaceX, rule changes that could accelerate its inclusion in major indices, and whether forced buying by index funds may help drive the share price higher. I also discuss the risk that early investors and insiders could benefit most, while everyday investors are left carrying the long-term risks. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Market commentary, Video Insights.

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Prior to the conflict, investors were debating AI’s immediate and long-term impact. While 2025 was about the rise of the AI “picks and shovels” – enablers like Nvidia – 2026 witnessed the emergence of agentic AI, and the narrative quickly became about the fall of the middlemen – the traditional software companies that built epochal and capital-light business on a per-seat revenue model.

This article was first published in The Australian on 25 March 2026. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Economics, Global markets, In the Press, Investing Education, Market commentary, Market Valuation, Technology & Telecommunications.

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What’s war good for? With apologies to Motown songwriters Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, absolutely nothing from humanity’s point of view. While the human cost of conflict – measured in lives lost, families displaced, and immense suffering – is profound and undeniable, the historical relationship between geopolitical chaos and long-term market valuations is remarkably detached, perhaps because markets grind on, focused on profits and with what appears to be indifference to the tragedies that dominate the headlines. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Global markets, Market commentary.

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If you were thinking of buying a, say, a $2 million property to renovate and flip in 18 months, Labor’s 2026 budget just made that a perilous strategy, while also making investing in an AA rated Private Credit Fund way more attractive.

The 2026 Federal Budget has significantly shifted the goalposts for you. If you haven’t signed a contract yet, you are stepping into a very different tax environment than the one that existed last week.

In the current 2026 climate, a private credit fund returning 7.22 per cent as at 31 March 2026*, is almost certainly the superior choice for a $2 million allocation over an 18-month horizon.

*Returns are net of fees and assumes reinvestment of distributions. Past performance is not a reliable indication of future performance. Inception date 4 October 2022. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Aura Group, Editor's Pick, Market commentary, Property.

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Higher global inflation and lower growth will reflect the scale of impact dependent on the length and severity of the U.S./Iran war. 

The near-term forecasts for global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) use a Reference Scenario, Adverse Scenario and a Severe Scenario, as illustrated in Graph 1 below. Continue…

by David Buckland Posted in Economics, Energy / Resources, Insightful Insights, Investing Education.

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While Israel pursues a high-stakes military campaign and President Trump plays ‘Deal or No Deal” with an Iranian regime that might not even have a leader in charge, investors are doing the only sensible thing left: Hiding.

With the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)’s ‘asymmetric’ threat to the Strait of Hormuz continuing and the U.S. increasing its on-the-ground footprint as America’s 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit arrives in the Middle East, the risk of a recession has also risen. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies, Global markets, Insightful Insights, Investing Education, Market commentary.

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I was fascinated by this ABC article, which welcomed the federal Labor Government’s expected changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax in the 2026 Budget. While the article focuses heavily on tax policy as the lever for change, it largely omits the supply-side pressures of record migration and high construction costs. It also ignores the massive burden Labor’s massive and unbridled spending has on the budget, ensuring the young are locked in to paying off the debt for decades to come. Finally, it ignores the fact that when the older generation have taken out a mortgage to fund a rental property investment, they are reducing their burden on social welfare, specifically the government funded pension. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Economics, Property.

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Before I begin; I use the term ‘workers’ in this article. It’s not intended to be disparaging. It’s a reference to a label that the Labor Government gives their core constituency. It’s the voting base Labor frequently refers to and says they support.

The 2026 Federal budget may offer an insight into Labor’s logic:

‘Tax the asset to fund their so-called ‘worker’, so that worker can buy an asset.’

The problem?

They haven’t solved a generational divide; I believe they’ve just designed a wealth-recycling machine where the Government takes a service fee at every turn.

If we look a bit closer, we find a paradox. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Editor's Pick, Market commentary.

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I know everyone, at the moment, is focused on the Middle East, oil prices and inflation, and some are also considering the second and third-order effects on, for example, plastic and food supply chains. But while investors are distracted by geopolitical tensions, another, potentially even sharper, transition in artificial intelligence (AI) is occurring that began at the end of last year and is accelerating.

For a while, Large Language Models (LLMs) like Gemini, ChatGPT, Grok and their ilk captured our imagination. AI felt like a sophisticated parlour trick – you ask a question and receive an answer, a more efficient web search, an online adviser or even a chat companion. And even now, the majority of those who use AI are still employing it this way. But that’s all about to change. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Market commentary.

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