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Here’s what you need to know today

• The Reserve Bank of Australia cut the cash rate 25 basis points to 3.85%. Following another 25bps cut in February, Australia’s benchmark cash rate has dropped from 4.35% to 3.85% in 2025 so far. (ABC News)
  
  

• If passed on fully by the banks, this rate cut will save $104 a month for the average Australian mortgage of $642,000. All four major Australian banks cut interest rates for home loans by 25 basis points. CBA, NAB and ANZ’s cut will be effective from 30 May while Westpac’s will be from 3 June. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• The Reserve Bank also released modelling that shows the range of outcomes for Australia of a global trade war. The takeaway? A trade war would in most cases be worse than the Global Financial Crisis. (AFR)
  
  

• Australia’s National Party has decided to split from the Liberal Party after the two sides could not come to a renewed Coalition agreement. The Coalition has existed in some form since 1923, although has split multiple times, the latest being in 1987 over a dispute in Queensland. Nationals leader David Littleproud said he hoped the two parties would be able to re-form the Coalition before the next election in three years. (ABC)

  
  

• US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a two hour phone call to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine. After the call Trump said Russia and Ukraine would “immediately start” peace negotiations while Putin said Russia is ready to work with Ukraine to craft a "memorandum on a possible future peace agreement". (BBC)
  
  

• The largest IPO so far in 2025 took place in Hong Kong as battery-maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) raised HK$35.7 billion (US$4.6 billion). Shares in the company jumped 18% on their first day of trading. (CNBC)
  
  

• Britain and the European Union announced a deal to “reset” post-Brexit relations. The agreement will allow British firms to participate in Europe’s €150 billion arms-procurement fund and will ease trade for agricultural products. (ABC)
  
  

• American pharmaceutical company Regeneron agreed to buy genealogy-testing kit maker 23andMe out of bankruptcy for $256 million. As part of the deal Regeneron agreed to comply with 23andMe’s existing privacy policies. (CNN)
  
  

• Canva cofounder Cameron Adams has joined The Giving Pledge. Adams and his wife Lisa Miller have pledged to give away half their wealth, currently US$2.9 billion, over their lifetime. Canva’s other cofounders, Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht, together worth US$11.5 billion, joined The Giving Pledge in 2021. (Capital Brief)

What the…?

Remember the Metaverse? In the peak of the 2021 bubble we had people buying virtual land, talk of sending your digital avatar to virtual meetings and Mark Zuckerberg was so convinced he even changed Facebook’s name to Meta.

Four years later and that version of the metaverse hasn’t come to pass. Instead the industrial metaverse is emerging. Companies are using it to build digital simulations and power automation. For example BMW has built a digital twin of its factory to test any changes to its manufacturing lines. Or US home improvement giant Lowes uses a metaverse version of their stores to test any changes to layouts before changing any physical stores.

The World Economic Forum forecast the industrial metaverse to be worth $100 billion by 2030. So maybe Zuckerberg’s metaverse dreams aren’t quite dead yet. (Wired)

Investing is a lifelong journey

Here’s what you can learn today.

Retiring without property?

Community Question: I don't want to buy property. What risks are there with not buying property until you retire?

We put this question to Dylan Pargiter-Green, financial adviser and cofounder of Bold Wealth.

The Australian Dream… A big block, verandah out the front, hills hoist in the back yard and watching the sun fall over the suburban streets. Australian’s have historically been a little bit obsessed with property. And for good reason, it has performed incredibly well over the past 50+years, as our baby boomer friends who purchased in the 60s, 70s and 80s will tell us. But it’s not the only option for building wealth.

As long as you have a solid understanding of where you will be with alternative assets in retirement, you can build wealth to be able to provide a comfortable retirement income. However, this income will need to be larger than the average to take into account rent you will have to pay ongoing.

A principal place of residence is exempt from the asset test for social security benefits, where investment assets are not. This can mean the difference between paying top dollar for a lot of costs that rise in retirement including medical appointments and pharmaceuticals, registration, utilities and rates amongst others. Hopefully, we’re all tracking to a point where we no longer rely on a government pension or benefits.

A property provides more than just an investment asset or store of long term value. It provides security over the long term that you’ll have shelter and a more settled lifestyle. This is very important to most people and the fact that property grows over the long term, whilst using leverage is a bonus. If you’ve got a deposit and can grow your wealth, whilst paying similar amounts in interest and repayments that you are in rent, you’ll end up ahead over the long term with a good property.

Interested in speaking to Dylan or another of our hand-picked financial advisers? Fill out the form on our website and we’ll put you in touch.

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