Top 10 Sharesight blog articles of 2019

As we rapidly approach the end of another year, it’s a great time to look back at how your portfolio has been performing and catch up on some of our top blog articles you may have missed in 2019.

The top 10 Sharesight blog articles published in 2019

1. Top 10 investing podcasts for Australian investors

The first of our articles is also a "Top 10". - In this article, the Sharesight team shares 10 of our favourite Australian podcasts for investors, including our friends Aussie Firebug, Equity Mates, The Richards Report and Shares for Beginners.

(We also wrote a round up of our top 10 podcasts for investors worldwide!)

2. Capital gains tax calculator for Australian investors

Calculating capital gains on share trading in Australia can be quite complicated, with the choice of a number of different sale allocation methods, as well as different CGT discounts depending on the length of time the shares were held. Fortunately Sharesight includes a powerful Australian Capital Gains Tax Report that helps investors easily calculate their CGT obligations.

3. How to calculate franking credits on your investment portfolio

When introduced in Australia 1987, the original intent of the dividend imputation regime was to stop the double taxation of company dividends. Australia was the first country in the world to introduce this double taxation avoidance regime. As part of this regime, the concept of ‘franking credits’ was introduced. In this post we dive into what franking credits are, and how to calculate them with Sharesight.

4. ETFs versus LICs: What you need to know

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Listed Investment Companies (LICs) are both very popular investment choices among retail investors. They have many similarities, but have some important differences investors should be aware of. In this article we dive into the key differences between ETFs and LICs, and what the advantages and disadvantages are for each.

5. How to track a dividend reinvestment plan

Also known as DRPs or DRIPs, dividend reinvestment plans (or distribution reinvestment plans if referring to funds or trusts such as ETFs and REITs) allow you to automatically reinvest your dividends in new shares rather than receiving cash. Because DRPs are an automatic purchase or ‘buy’ trade, they can affect the cost base for your shares and complicate capital gains tax calculations when the time comes to sell. With Sharesight tracking DRPs is easy for NZX and ASX shares, and we even detail how to track DRPs on other markets in this article as well.

6. 3 tips to maximise your retirement savings

When it comes to building wealth for retirement, the sooner you start, the sooner the magic of compounding kicks in. Whether you prefer stocks, bonds, property, alternative assets or a combination of those things, time in the market can help your portfolio reach great heights. In this article we share three tips to maximise the size of your investment portfolio in time for retirement.

7. Calculating taxable gains on share trading in New Zealand

While New Zealand doesn’t have a general capital gains tax (CGT) regime like those of Australia or Canada, New Zealand does tax gains made by investors in some circumstances.

In this article, we break down who New Zealand’s capital gains tax currently may apply to, and how to calculate losses/gains on share trading activity if you are using Sharesight for tax purposes.

8. 3 easy ways to automate your portfolio admin

Like most things in life, the key to staying on top of your investments over the long run is to automate as many of the tedious admin tasks that eat up your time as possible.

The first step in automating your portfolio admin should be to sign-up for a free Sharesight account. Once your Sharesight portfolio is set up you’ll want to automate as many of the day-to-day admin tasks as possible. Here are 3 easy ways to do that.

9. 3 reasons why you need to be tracking dividends

Dividend tracking might seem ‘unsexy’ compared to tracking capital growth, but dividends have a material impact on your investment returns, so it’s critical to ensure you’ve got the complete picture. To get the full picture of the impact of dividends on your investment performance, you need to understand:

• How much cash you receive from dividends

• The dividend tax implications

• The impact of dividend reinvestment

10. Is it time to consider a defensive investment strategy?

A defensive investment strategy is more about minimising (or avoiding) losses than maximising gains. During volatile times, and when investors are approaching or in retirement it can pay to consider a defensive investment strategy when big losses might be difficult to recover from.

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Further information

• The top 11 Sharesight blog posts of 2017
• Interpreting portfolio performance
• How to interpret the P/E ratio
• Asset allocation reporting in Sharesight