It's no secret Livewire readers love small caps. That said, your most-tipped smalls for 2021 took quite the tumble. These reader favourites fell 14% in a year when the benchmark, the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries, lifted 12.75%.

This year, however, your list is uncharacteristically resources heavy. In fact, four out of your ten picks sit squarely in that sector. And with interest rates on the rise, and battery materials going from strength to strength, you could be onto a handful of winners.

In this blockbuster episode, Livewire's Ally Selby was joined by two all-star long-short managers, John Deniz from Paragon Funds Management and Josh Clark from QVG Capital. Our two fundies lend their expertise to your 10 favourite small-cap stocks, and open up about some of the major changes they have made to their portfolios in 2022.

Plus, will Bitcoin or Aussie housing outperform over the year ahead? You'll just have to watch to the end to find out.

Note: This episode of Buy Hold Sell was shot on Monday 24th January 2022. You can read an edited transcript below:

https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/buy-hold-sell-your-most-tipped-small-caps/

Welcome back to Buy Hold Sell for 2022. We've missed every single one of you. And what better way to kick off the very first episode of the year, than to take a look at what matters most to Livewire readers - your top-tipped stocks for the year ahead. 

There's some big names in there (with even bigger market caps) - think the country's best financial players, like Macquarie Group and Westpac, as well as resources and mining giants BHP, Fortescue Metals Group, Mineral Resources, Pilbara Minerals, and Woodside. 

Gambling giant Aristocrat Leisure and Australia's favourite retail conglomerate Wesfarmers also made the list (who doesn't love Bunnings' bangers?). And of course, your top-tipped stocks wouldn't be complete without reader favourite and biotech darling CSL. 

Livewire's very own James Marlay was joined by Prime Value's ST Wong and Airlie Funds' Matt Williams for this cracker of an episode to welcome in the new year. Our fundies analyse your favourite stocks for the year ahead and outline a few big picture ideas to help you navigate the volatile market environment in 2022. 

Plus, will Bitcoin or the Aussie housing market outperform over the 12 months ahead? You won't want to miss this one. 

Note: This episode of Buy Hold Sell was shot on Wednesday 19th January 2022. You can read an edited transcript below:

https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/buy-hold-sell-your-most-tipped-large-caps/

They say there is nothing more expensive than something free, and the same could be said of the stimulus that we have enjoyed over the months and years living through the pandemic. 

While markets around the world have skyrocketed from the lows of the COVID crash, so too has global debt - now at a staggering US$296 trillion according to The Institute of International Finance (or 353% of GDP), US$36 trillion higher than levels seen prior to the pandemic.

And with US banks already expecting the Federal Reserve to announce four interest rate hikes in a bid to stymie inflation in 2022, investors would be wise to brace for increased volatility over the months ahead. 

So as part of our Outlook Series, we spoke to nine of Sydney's best fund managers for the stocks they would buy in the case of market weakness. These include some of Australia's highest-quality tech legends, as well as a handful of global stalwarts currently trading too high. 

You can read an edited transcript or watch a video below:

https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/8-of-the-best-stocks-to-buy-in-a-sell-off/

Investors are always at risk of losing sight of the big picture. It's easy to become preoccupied with distracting detail at the expense of good judgement.

This can pay off every now and again – broken clocks tell the time twice a day, as the saying goes - but it doesn’t constitute intelligent investing over the long term.

In other words: don’t take shortcuts when investing. This is especially the case now. High valuations, the prospect of inflation, and rising interest rates mean that winners may be increasingly difficult to come by.

Our fund managers’ investing tips for 2022 cover the investing habits that will avoid shortcuts.

Doing due diligence and fundamental analysis are two of the many tips you’ll find in this wire. “Numbers over narrative,” as Talaria Asset Management founder Chad Padowitz puts it.

You can read an edited transcript below or watch the video: 

https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/want-to-level-up-your-investing-9-fundies-share-how/

When it comes to predictions, there are two types of articles that you'll find. The first type is where people put their minds to what might lie ahead, assess the prevailing conditions, and make a call on what they think will happen. They do so often against their will and with full knowledge that there is an even chance they'll get it wrong. But it is a bit of fun, and it gets the grey matter going.

The other type of article lectures us about how the evidence shows that making predictions is a mug's game. Today, we're going to assume you've read one of these lectures and move on to the fun stuff, thanks to the nine fundies who have given us their bold predictions for 2022.

Interest rates and inflation dominate the views of our guests and remain significant points of disagreement. They've also got their eyes on deflating bubbles in speculative investments, there's a contrarian view on why markets have years of clear skies ahead, and someone reckons the Wallabies will win the Bledisloe Cup!

In behavioural finance, herd mentality refers to investors' tendency to follow the decisions of "the crowd". Throwing their own independent analysis to the wind, these investors bet their hard-earned savings on the "next big thing" capturing the market's attention.

From profitless growth stocks with frightening valuations, pumped-up retailers, reopening trades and of course, US tech, the danger for investors is that these so-called consensus trades can get crowded, overheat, and melt away to nothing. 

So, in this podcast, we asked eight expert fund managers to tell us about the crowded trades they believe could run out of steam in 2022. To read a transcript, click the link below: 

https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/the-crowded-trades-to-avoid-in-2022/

Well, folks, it's the moment you've been waiting for. We've scoured Australia for the country's finest fund managers, who in this video, will share their highest-conviction call for the year ahead. And this year, we've pulled out the big guns.

For the first time, we've headed down to Melbourne to speak to top-performing fundies like global growth stock picker Nick Griffin and Aussie value investor Richard Ivers. And, of course, we sat down with some of Sydney's best portfolio managers as well (including the top-performing stock pickers from 2021).

A quick look at previous year's picks shows our fundies' favourite stocks reward close attention. In 2021, our 10 fundies picks delivered a total return of 45.14% (when viewed as an equal-weighted portfolio), beating the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries and MSCI World Index's returns of 10.93% and 18.43% respectively year to date.

I know, I know - 2021 was a good year. However, during tumultuous 2020, our fundies picks managed to generate a return of 13.88%, beating the benchmark by a whopping 10.26%.

Meantime, in 2019, our fundies selections roared to deliver a total return of 59% (an outperformance of 35.86%).

If you would prefer to read a transcript, or watch a video, check out the link below: 

https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/the-1-stock-picks-for-2022

Our featured experts include:

Anthony Aboud, Perpetual Asset Management 

Chad Padowitz, Talaria Asset Management

Eleanor Swanson, Firetrail Investments 

Nick Griffin, Munro Partners 

Simon Shields, Monash Investors 

Richard Ivers, Prime Value Asset Management

David Moberley, Paradice Investment Management

Mark Landau, L1 Capital 

Hamish Carlisle, Merlon Capital 

Adrian Martuccio, Bell Asset Management 

Bob Desmond, Claremont Global 

Dean Fergie, Cyan Investment Management 

Matthew Kidman, Centennial Asset Management 

Nick Pashias, Antares Equities 

Steve Johnson, Forager Funds 

Steve Black, Pengana Capital Group 

Chris Demasi, Montaka Global Investments 

Michael Steele, Yarra Capital Management

2021 was undoubtedly a year for the bulls. If you were fully invested in the S&P 500 on January 1st, you made a very handy return of almost 22%. And remember - that’s after having already recovered the losses of 2020.

2022 will be more of the same according to most of our fundies.

Of the nine we interviewed, five were bullish and three were bearish.

The arithmetic "quickdraws" among you will realise that this only adds up to eight. Chad Padowitz’s call snuck through to the keeper. He sounds bearish but we'll let you decide. We’ll be sure to hold you to a call next year, Chad.

You can read or watch the video below: 

https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/the-5-bulls-and-3-bears-you-ll-meet-in-2022

With the S&P 500 and the S&P/ASX 200 racing ahead approximately 27% and 10% in 2021, it's fair to say investors have had a surprisingly good year. Despite the ups and downs of COVID-19 (of which we are still suffering through now), lockdowns, and border closures, if investors were fully invested, they would have walked away with truly impressive returns over the past 12 months. 

That said, there are always some positions that hurt more than others, which cause both headache and heartache as we watch their share prices fall lower and lower. 

And while it's easier said than done to cut your losses, as revealed in this video, it can sometimes pay to stay convicted in a poorly performing position. 

As part of our annual Outlook Series, we took it to nine of Australia's most respected fund managers to share their worst trade of 2021. From companies that saw their share prices halve during the year, to calamity over a capital raising, an IPO gone wrong and an opportunity forgone, our Sydney-based fundies candidly reveal the painful positions (or lack thereof) that kept them up at night during the 12 months just past. 

Plus, they share the lessons they took away from these headaches so you can better invest in 2022.   

Our featured experts include:

Simon Shields, Monash Investors 

Eleanor Swanson, Firetrail Investments 

Steve Johnson, Forager Funds 

David Moberley, Paradice Investment Management 

Hamish Carlisle, Merlon Capital Partners

Chris Demasi, Montaka Global Investments 

Bob Desmond, Claremont Global 

Anthony Aboud, Perpetual Asset Management 

Matthew Kidman, Centennial Asset Management