This week on Equity Mates

Hey there Equity Mate,

For the past 59 years, Warren Buffett has published a letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. And every year, it has been filled with wit and investing wisdom that we can all benefit from.

Last week, history’s greatest investor released his 2023 letter. On today’s Equity Mates Investing podcast episode we break down our seven biggest takeaways.

That’s not all we released this week:

• Equity Mates Investing (Apple | Spotify)

  • Monday: Pimp my Portfolio, two investor letters & what do UGG and Hoka have in common?

  • Tuesday: Ask An Advisor: Phil Thompson - You'll never think about insurance the same

  • Thursday: 7 takeaways from Buffett letter, Reddit's IPO & a question on share registries

• Get Started Investing (Apple | Spotify): 

  • Tuesday: Best starting point for a beginner to start investing?

If you have feedback, a question or want to get involved in the podcast, hit us up at our website contact page.

Your questions, answered

Arthur asked via email:

Can I time my super contributions to take advantage of market drawdowns?

We put Arthur’s question to Andy Darroch, from Independent Wealth Advice.

Yes, you absolutely can time contributions to super with market movements. Although, it’s not as simple or nimble as investing outside of super.

Generally, for good industry funds, your money will be treated as having been invested the day it hits the fund’s bank account. With BPAY for instance, it’s typically within 24 – 72 hours of sending the funds (factoring weekends etc). You also need to ensure that your “new contributions” are setup to be invested right away, which is the default setting for any good industry fund.

Now with timing contributions, you won’t have any control over your employer contributions (e.g. the 11% paid by your employer direct to your fund), but you do control any ‘voluntary contributions’, e.g. contributing your personal cash. In this case, you absolutely can “time” contributions for when the market is down.

You can also utilise dollar cost averaging for voluntary contributions and invest incrementally rather than making a single large contribution. If you’re in a good fund, this shouldn’t cause any major headaches or unnecessary fees.

Let’s remember superannuation is an ultra long-term investment with a long time horizon. Industry super funds are about the only example worldwide where everyday investors can get cutting edge exposure to things like private equity, infrastructure and unlisted property.

Yes, these assets aren’t as useful for opportunistic top ups, but they are incredibly well suited for delivering outstanding long term returns, reducing volatility and providing income in retirement.

If you have a question you’d like answered, hit us up at equitymates.com/contact

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For starters, we have the free Get Started Investing course. It covers all the basic of what is the stock market, how do I start investing and how do I build a portfolio.

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What we’ve been reading

The biggest Supreme Court case that nobody seems to be talking about

The US Supreme Court is hearing a case that will determine the future of social media. Moody v. NetChoice LLC and NetChoice LLC v. Paxton are being heard together in the Supreme Court and relate to whether social media companies can decide who can and cannot use their service.

This all relates to the First Amendment (that protects freedom of speech in the US) and how it should be interpreted. In the simplest terms:

• One side argues that social media platforms are common carriers like telecommunications services, and must be available equally to all

• The other side argues that social media platforms are more like newspaper publishers and have discretion on how content is shown and who can publish content on their platform

Involved in both cases is NetChoice, a lobby group that represents a number of social media companies including X (formerly Twitter) and Meta (formerly Facebook).

On the other side of the case are the state governments of Texas and Florida, who have taken up these cases after Donald Trump was removed from a number of social media platforms in 2020. Given the Republican-tilt of the current Supreme Court it will be interesting to see how the Court decides. How they decide will have a big influence on content moderation leading up to the 2024 US election and beyond.

Tax records reveal the lucrative world of covid misinformation

That quote summarises the finding of this Washington Post analysis of tax records of a number of anti-vaccine groups.

Take Presidential-candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s Children’s Health Defense. In 2022, the anti-vaccine group received $23.5 million in donations, up 8 times it’s pre-pandemic level in 2019.

This isn’t surprising, the pandemic focused attention on vaccines and created fertile ground for these groups. The concern outlined in this article is the long-term consequences of this funding. It increases the likelihood of future medical misinformation campaigns, as these groups work to maintain funding levels post-COVID. And the ultimate fear is that childhood diseases, once vanquished, come roaring back as rates of childhood vaccinations fall.

This article takes a deep look at these four groups and how they have spent the money. From a TV channel with daily programming on vaccine safety (how much content can you make?) to supporting Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s run for President, they are making that money work in a variety of ways.

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