Here’s what you need to know today

• Australia is one-step closer to high-speed rail (but still over a decade away). Infrastructure Australia has released a positive assessment of a proposed high-speed rail link between Sydney to Newcastle via the Central Coast. The trip would take 60 minutes. The project is now with the federal government for approval. If approved, the first phase would be completed by 2037. (ABC News)
  
  

• Some Australian companies reported great quarterly results. Gaming machine maker Light & Wonder reported a 78% increase in quarterly profit (Capital Brief) while packaging giant Amcor reported revenue up 68%. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• Breville saw shares jump 7% after confirming that the majority of its appliances being sold in the US will no longer be made in China. This has been a 3 year project, at the start of which 85% of its products bound for the US were made in China. By Christmas, it will be just 20%. (AFR)
  
  

• On the other hand, Australian bank NAB had a tough day after reporting a 3% fall in profit. Shares fell 3%. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• Apple is finally acknowledging Siri needs an upgrade. The iPhone-maker is in talks for a $1 billion deal with Google to use its Gemini AI in an overhaul of the Apple voice assistant. (Bloomberg)
  
  

• Australia was one of the few bright spots for fast food giant McDonald’s. The company reported 2.4% decline in US sales, but overall global sales grew 3.6% led by Germany, Japan and Australia. (CNBC)
  
  

• Who will buy Warner Bros? That is the question on Hollywood’s lips after CEO David Zaslav noted that the company had multiple suitors. David Ellison, son of world’s second-richest man Larry Ellison, has been chasing Warner Bros after buying Paramount in July. But on an earnings call this week Zaslav noted others had expressed interest. Speculation is Netflix and Amazon are among those interested. (The Wrap)
  
  

• Norway’s parliament has suspended the ethical investing mandate for the country’s $2.1 trillion sovereign wealth fund. The fund was going to have to sell its holdings in Microsoft and Amazon because of their work with the Israeli government (deemed unethical by Norway). The fund recently was forced to sell Caterpillar after Israel used its bulldozers in Gaza and the West Bank. (Reuters)
  
  

• France has banned Chinese fast-fashion platform Shein from operating in the country. This ban came after childlike sex dolls and weapons were discovered on the platform. Shein suspended the third-party sellers responsible and said it would work with the French government to address any further concerns. (ABC News)
  
  

• The US government shutdown is now officially the longest in history: 36 days and counting. More than 700,000 federal government workers remain at home or are working without pay. (CNN)
  
  

• US Supreme Court watchers are scrutinising the questions America’s 9 Supreme Court justices ask as they consider the legality of President Trump’s tariffs. The plaintiffs in the case argue Trump imposing tariffs without Congressional approval is unconstitutional, and the questions the justices have asked so far suggest they may be sympathetic to that argument. (WSJ)
  
  

• As the Supreme Court discussed these tariffs, prediction market Polymarket saw odds of the Supreme Court ruling in Trump’s favour dropping from 38% to 28%. Still, a decision is not expected for months. (CNBC)

What the…?

When AI experts talk about industries most at-risk of AI disruption, the law is often top of the list. Researching case law, poring over discovery materials, and writing long briefs all seem to be tasks AI was made to help with.

Overseas, AI is being incorporated more and more into judicial proceedings. China has introduced ‘smart courts’ where judges use DeepSeek to write judgements in minutes. Judges in the UK have noted the technology is “jolly useful” and suggested it could be used to adjudicate some cases.

This recent report from the ABC looks at the creeping use of AI in the Australian legal system. And with the stakes so high in a courtroom - often with someone’s freedom on the line - it asks: is the technology ready to such an important task? (ABC)

Investing is a lifelong journey

Here’s what you can learn today

How to manage a windfall

Community Question: What would your advice be to someone who comes into a large lump sum of money? For context I have just sold some land and have received over $150k after all my debt and capital gains has been paid off. Should I invest it all at once in the share market (keeping some cash in the bank) or invest slowly over the next few months?

We put this question to Jaarod Holmes, financial adviser at Morgans Financial.

When considering the question of all in now or gradually go in over a course of months, there is one key consideration…

…Your emotions

This is the single most important factor. If you were to invest the money today, and the market preceded to fall 30%, would you be okay seeing the number in your investment account being $100,000 or even less….. and if the answer is ‘yes’ without hesitation, I think you might want to have a conversation with the person in the mirror and ask this question again.

The ‘all in now’ approach

It is interesting to note that peer reviewed literature suggests that over the long term, putting a lump sum of money to work immediately will provide you with the greatest opportunity to achieve the best mathematical outcome. What the literature doesn’t take into account is our fickle human emotions and the fact that, you are not guaranteed to have a better return by going all in.

Dollar-cost-averaging

What I have found is that, because we are human, and have those fickle human emotions, chasing the best mathematical outcome can cause us to achieve the worst possible outcome. Because of this, the best approach is to dollar cost average in or as you say ‘invest it slowly into the market over the course of a few months’.

By investing over the course of a few (or more) months, you might get a slightly lower return compared to investing all of it in month one, but you have a significantly higher chance of not worrying if the market corrects shortly after you invest.

Things you might not have considered:

• The entity in which the money is invested (your name, a company, a trust, superannuation). Making this decision at this stage is very important. Having the right entity structure set in place from the start can save you thousands of dollars and countless hours in the long run. It might not seem worth it now, but I can tell you form experience, it is.

• The broker/platform you use. While this is a bit easier to change, using the right broker/platform can save you some money sure, but the real win here is the time you will save if you have access to all of the right reporting. Trust me on this one, you don’t want to be spending 30 hours reconciling data from multiple different platforms at tax time. It Isn’t fun.

As always, if you need help, contact a licensed financial advisor or trusted accountant!

Feel like you could benefit from speaking to a financial adviser? Fill out the form on our website and we’ll match you with one of our hand-picked advisers.  

A message from Fidelity

Over the past two decades, Asia has evolved from the world’s manufacturing hub into a dynamic region of innovation, affluence, and ambition. With tech startups booming and a rising middle class reshaping consumption, the next big investment story may already be unfolding.

Just as India was once overlooked, can investors afford to miss the next evolution of Asia?

Issued by FIL Responsible Entity (Australia) Limited, ABN 33 148 059 009, AFSL No. 409340. This is general information only and is not intended to be advice of any kind. Consider the PDS and TMD available at www.fidelity.com.au

Want more Equity Mates?