What if ETFs didn't exist? Plus, top 3 highlights from the ASX

**Owen Rask** (0:00)
We know gold and silver continue to make headlines, but did you know GlobalX ETFs is Australia's largest commodity ETF provider? In fact, their flagship physical gold ETF, that's the ticker symbol G-O-L-D, was the first of its kind in the world. Whether you're looking for physical commodities or commodity miners, GlobalX has 12 options to choose from, including their newest silver miners ETF. Visit globalxetfs.com.au to learn more. AFSL 466778 Investing involves risk and returns are not guaranteed. Refer to the relevant PDS and TMD. As you know, TermPlus recently came on as a platinum sponsor of RAS podcasts, and I invested a small amount myself, $2,000 to be exact, to get a feel for it. After all, I couldn't tell you to consider it if I hadn't at least considered it myself. And the result is it's a very, very good platform. It's potentially the simplest technology platform that I've come across in Australian finance. And what makes that extra special is you know, behind the scenes, something very sophisticated is actually happening. TermPlus is investing your capital in a globally diversified and professionally constructed portfolio of private credit, designed to produce attractive and reliable monthly income. Aside from providing passive income, what really attracted me to partnering with TermPlus now is potentially falling interest rates. Because TermPlus starts by targeting 3% returns above the RBA cash rate for a one-year fixed term account, there's a buffer in place even as interest rates fall. Monthly income can also be paid directly into your bank account or reinvested for compound returns. I see TermPlus as a really neatly packaged way for retirees or even accumulators like me to get exposure to professionally constructed global private credit portfolios. You can find out much more information and grab a hold of the PDS and TMD at termplus.com.au. If you want to just check out the website, you should also know that there's an instant chat function for questions, which is really important and I find really handy before I invest in anything. Don't forget to tell them Rasz sent you. And as always, consult a licensed and trusted financial planner who can take into account your financial goals, needs and risk appetite before investing. Hey there, here's a quick note. This podcast contains general financial advice only. That means it's not specific to you, your needs, goals or objectives. So don't act on the information until you've spoken with your financial advisor. You'll find our full disclosure, disclaimer and link to our financial services guide in the show notes.
The US and Israel have launched attacks at Iran, which has had implications for now, if we just bring it back to the nature of this podcast, financial markets.

**Drew Meredith** (2:53)
If we go back and look at what happened when the tariff announcements started coming out, there was so much uncertainty on where that would actually end up. Basically, if the cost of oil and gas and everything goes up, basically everything goes up, which means inflation is going to go up, which means the RBA might have to increase interest rates again.

**Owen Rask** (3:08)
What does Middle East tension mean to investors? Should Aussies be worried? Should you sell your ETFs? In this episode of the podcast, my co-host Drew has put a question to me, what will we do if ETFs didn't exist? How would we invest? We're going to talk about all that and more. We've got results from Coles. We've got results from Harvey Norman. We're going to talk a little bit of AI, I'm sure, and a few other things in this week's episode, this Two Cents episode on the Australian Investors Podcast. Drew Meridotheo, how are you, mate?

**Drew Meredith** (3:38)
Pretty good. Lots happening.

**Owen Rask** (3:40)
We normally say that every week, but this week, there is a lot happening.

**Drew Meredith** (3:43)
I mean, it's market, so there's always something happening, but this is huge.

**Owen Rask** (3:46)
It is indeed.

**Drew Meredith** (3:47)
Magellan merges with...

**Owen Rask** (3:51)
Well, I can see in your notes now, because I just did check. Barrenjoey, what are the chances?

**Drew Meredith** (3:56)
I did not see that coming. I mean, we will get to the actual, the big news shortly, but I saw that and I just couldn't go past it.

**Owen Rask** (4:01)
Yeah, well, for those of you that don't know, we have a long running bet that Drew said that Platinum would do better than Magellan shares, and I said Magellan shares would do better than Platinum. Platinum being the dog that it is, eventually was acquired by L1 Capital, and now it turns out Magellan, who I should say for disclosure, does advertise on the Rask Podcast every now and again, is merging with Barrenjoey, which they already owned a stake in.