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Here’s what you need to know today

• Australian design platform Canva reported revenue jumped 50% in a year, with annualised revenue now at US$3.3 billion. The company has 240 million users, with 26 million paid, and reportedly is profitable. Capital Brief reported that paying customers and annual recurring revenue has grown 10% in just the last 6 weeks! Seems like it’s primed for an IPO. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• Good news for the Australian economy, with retail sales rising 1.2% in June. This was the highest growth rate since March 2023. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• We are hearing mixed messages as we reach America’s 1 August deadline to renegotiate Liberation Day tariffs. President Trump posted, “THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE IS THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE—IT STANDS STRONG, AND WILL NOT BE EXTENDED” while just hours later Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “If there’s not a deal by August 1, I would encourage market participants, corporate America, even the countries, not to panic.” (Reuters)
  
  

• The latest news from the trade war saw President Trump increase tariffs on Brazil from 10% to 50%, with exceptions for orange juice and aircraft parts. (CNN) South Korea got 15% tariffs (ABC News), while India face 25% tariffs for “the most strenuous and obnoxious” non-monetary trade barriers. Trump also imposed an additional “penalty” on India for importing large amounts of Russian oil and weapons despite western sanctions. (Truth Social)
  
  

• Expectations were high for Microsoft and Meta’s results, as the two tech giants are seen as big AI winners. Both companies beat those expectations. Microsoft’s shares were up 9% after reporting revenue up 18% and profit up 24%. (Financial Times) Meta’s shares were up 10% after reporting revenue up 22% and profit up 36%. (Financial Times)
  
  

• Jerome Powell, Chair of the US Federal Reserve, has withstood the pressure from President Trump and held rates steady at 4.25% - 4.5%. Trump has been pushing for a cut to rates to boost America’s economic growth, but America’s growth appears strong - with the latest GDP figures show 3% annualised growth in the second quarter. (Reuters)
  
  

• Rio Tinto shares dropped 3.5% after US copper prices fell 19%. The commodity price fell sharply after the Trump Administration announced refined copper would be exempt from the 50% copper tariff that is due to come into effect today (Friday). (Bloomberg)
  
  

• Australia’s major sharemarket operator has seen its 4th executive departure in 12 months. 15-year veteran of the ASX, compliance chief Daniel Moran, has followed head of listings Blair Beaton, chief risk officer Hamish Treleaven and head of technology and data Dan Chesterman out the door. This follows a horror run for the ASX with its CHESS replacement project failing, ASIC investigations and controversy over the primary-listing change for James Hardie. (AFR)
  
  

• French luxury giant Hermès reported a 9% jump in sales, driven by demand for the Birkin handbags. Earlier this year Hermès overtook LVMH as the most valuable luxury company. This result is a hopeful sign for the luxury sector that has underperformed the broader market in recent years. (Vogue Business)

What the…?

As AI advances and more and more people get comfortable with it, the long-predicted job losses are starting to emerge. Australian logistics software giant WiseTech Global is the latest company to flag that redundancies are coming because of AI. (AFR)

WiseTech are not alone. Amazon, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, Klarna and BT are just some of the companies that have been transparent about AI replacing some human employee roles.

Investing is a lifelong journey

Here’s what you can learn today.

Transitioning from growth to income investments

Community Question: What portfolio allocation strategies can help pre-retirees transition from wealth accumulation to creating sustainable income streams?

We put this question to Peter Nevill, financial adviser at Viola Private Wealth

A key component is getting all the right money into the right buckets leading into retirement – you want to be structured as tax-effectively as possible as this will have a big impact on getting the most out of your capital base and funding your lifestyle in retirement.

There will be natural anxiety around stopping work and relying on your own asset base to fund the rest of your life – there is comfort knowing that currently every month your employer will deposit money in your account, and you tap your card with confidence at the shops. So, when it comes time for needing to replace that cashflow, we want to be able to turn on the portfolio tap and spend the income.

We always want portfolios to have assets that produce income, and assets that are there to generate growth – that is no different in retirement. We still want portfolio growth, but leading into retirement we want to be clear how much income we need the portfolio to produce, and shape the portfolio assets with a view to generating it.

A gradual shift to bolster a diverse range of income producing assets makes sense for pre-retirees. This could be done by reinvesting income produced pre-retirement back into those same assets, or into more dividend-focused Australian shares, to increase the overall yield of the portfolio. A lot of comfort can come from forecasting revenue that will be produced annually by the portfolio, and having a cash buffer there that will protect from being in the situation where you are forced to sell should markets be down. Providing the mathematical comfort that you can sustainably fund retirement goes a long way to easing the anxiety commonly seen by pre and new retirees.

Want to speak to Peter or another of our hand-picked financial advisers? Fill out the form on our website and we’ll match you with an adviser that suits your needs.

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