The Firefinch Ltd (ASX: FFX) share price went underground today.

The gold miner and lithium producer announced this morning that mining had started at its West African site.

But despite the positive news, the Firefinch share price spent the entire day in the red and was down 6.78% at 83 cents apiece at market close.

Mining operations begin at Morila Super Pit

Morila Super Pit is a gold mine located in West Africa — one of two major Firefinch projects.

In fact, the miner is so proud of this site, they’ve nicknamed it Morila the Gorilla — earning its name for producing some of the highest gold grades in the world.

Now that mining has started, the company hopes to produce more than 100,000 ounces of gold per annum from the site.

To do so, the activities will be undertaken by Firefinch’s primary mining contractor, Mota Engil, in conjunction with Malian group Interline (MEIM).

So far, Firefinch has moved the first material at the site, and now the next order of business is to pre-strip the waste.

The company said it expected ore mining to start during the second quarter of 2022, with the hope it would become a “consistent source of ore” soon after.

Comment from management

Firefinch managing director Dr Michael Anderson said the company was “well set up” for the work to come.

Morila Super Pit is where the greatest value for the business lies and, as we have done consistently to date, we have successfully delivered on another Morila development milestone.

Having previously stated that we’d commence mining at the Morila Super Pit in Q1 2022, we have broken ground in the first week of the quarter.

Firefinch share price snapshot

Over the last 12 months, the Firefinch share price has increased by a whopping 310%.

The miner has a market capitalisation of $971 million based on the current share price, and 1.17 billion shares issued.

The post Firefinch (ASX:FFX) shares tumbled 7% today despite project milestone appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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It might be easy to forget after today’s dramatic sell-off, but in 2021, ASX shares and the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a pretty strong year. The ASX 200 ended up gaining a solid 13% or so for the calendar year, not including dividend returns. But the BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK) made that look pretty paltry by comparison.

HACK units had a stellar year, no way about it. This exchange-traded fund (ETF) started the year at $8.82 but finished up last week at $10.86. That’s a capital gain of just over 23%. But if we factor in the BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF’s dividend distributions, and the returns get even better. According to the provider, HACK’s total 2021 returns came to roughly 26.6%.

So how did the BetaShares Cybersecurity ETF manage to double the returns of the ASX 200?

One HACK of a year for BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF

It would have helped that this ETF doesn’t invest in any ASX 200 shares. Or any Australian shares for that matter.

HACK holds a concentrated basket of companies that are judged to be world leaders in cybersecurity. Currently, 91.9% of those are US-listed companies, but there is a small presence from Israel, Japan, France, and India.

As of yesterday, its top 5 holdings were:

1. Accenture Plc (NYSE: ACN) with a portfolio weighting of 6.9%
2. Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) with a weighting of 6.8%
3. Palo Alto Networks Inc (NYSE: PANW) with a weighting of 5.9%
4. Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: CRWD) with a weighting of 5.3%
5. Cloudflare Inc (NYSE: NET) with a weighting of 3.7%

During 2021, Accenture shares rose by a very rewarding 58.7%.

Cisco shares were up 41.6%, while Palo Alto managed a 56.66% rise.

An outlier, Crowdstrike went backwards over the year that was, falling by 3.34%.

But Cloudflare went on to record a very pleasing 73.3% gain for 2021.

With such robust performances from HACK’s top 5 holdings, it’s perhaps no surprise this ETF enjoyed such a successful year.

But BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF investors might be used to this by now. After all, this is a fund that has averaged a return of 30.51% per annum over the past 3 years. And 22.4% per annum over the past 5.

As we begin 2022, it will be interesting to see how HACK performs over the year to come.

The BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF charges a management fee of 0.67% per annum, or $67 for every $10,000 invested.

The post Here’s how the BetaShares Cybersecurity ETF (ASX:HACK) beat the ASX 200 in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns Cloudflare, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended BETA CYBER ETF UNITS, Cloudflare, Inc., and CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended BETA CYBER ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price provided shareholders with a reasonable return in 2021. While the company contested with ongoing COVID-19 impacts, shares began to lift off, rising 11.2% by the end of the year.

However, the gain proved not enough to outpace the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). The market’s collection of the top 200 companies achieved a 13% return before dividends. While it wasn’t to be for Flight Centre shareholders, there were 2 ASX travel shares that went above and beyond the benchmark index.

Let’s take a look at the 2 travel companies that performed better than Flight Centre on the ASX last year.

2 shares flying over the top of Flight Centre on the ASX

In 2021, there were 2 ASX travel shares that exceeded expectations, despite being exposed to the same perils as Flight Centre. These companies were Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) and Sydney Airport (ASX: SYD). So, what was it that set these investments apart from their less fortunate peer?

The answer for Sydney Airport is quite an obvious one for anyone who followed the merger and acquisition space last year. On 5 July 2021, Australia’s largest airport received a buyout offer for $22.6 billion in an all-cash transaction.

Shares in Sydney Airport quickly responded to the $8.25 per share offer, rising 37% on the day. As the year went on, this offer was increased to $8.75. Prior to the offer, Sydney Airport shares were 9.4% below where they had started the year at. If not for the buyout, the airport operator might have been in a similar position as ASX-listed Flight Centre.

Meanwhile, Corporate Travel Management did not have a buyout offer to boost its share price. Instead, investors might have been more optimistic for this ASX travel share’s bounce back.

Unlike Sydney Airport and Flight Centre, Corporate Travel has had zero debt on its books since March 2020. Simultaneously, the company had cash piled up to the tune of $100 million throughout last year.

Furthermore, shareholders were informed in April 2021 that the company had broken even in March and was expecting positive underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) in the fourth quarter.

As it turned out, Corporate Travel Management returned to positive EBITDA in the second half. Notably, the ASX travel share announced the acquisition of Travel & Transport in September.

With these drivers behind it, the Corporate Travel Management share price gained 25.8% in 2021.

The post 2 ASX travel shares that flew higher than Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Corporate Travel Management Limited and Flight Centre Travel Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Wow, 2022, huh?

This time last year, we were hoping that the turning of the calendar page would herald the end to a tough year, and brighter times ahead.

That wasn’t, unfortunately, to be the case.

This time around, we weren’t so keen.

Not only were many of us reconsidering New Year’s Eve plans, as cases surged around the country, but we weren’t so naive as to assume a new digit at the end of the year would mean the end of our troubles.

Now, as you likely know, I’m an optimist. And – cross your fingers as I tempt fate – I do hope and expect we’ll finish the year in a better state than we started it.

So the fact that we’re about to tick over into a third year of dealing with the pandemic is cause for disappointment, but not the abandonment of hope.

I’m disappointed with facets of the various governments’ handling of the pandemic, to be sure, and I hope they do better in future. But while we should expect accountability for past mistakes, we should always continue to look forward, too.

We’ve been through tougher times before, and come out stronger. We will, again.

At the same time, we’re almost a week through the new year. Time enough for some people to be making real traction on New Year’s resolutions, while others may have already faltered.

To be honest, I’m not really a resolutions kinda guy.

But I do like the fact that for many people, a new year is a mental and emotional opportunity to leave the old behind, and focus on the new.

No, there’s nothing magical about an arbitrary point in a solar calendar. We can ‘start again’ or ‘start from scratch’ at any time. But we know from behavioural psychology that external prompts or social ‘norms’ can give us a running start.

So that’s good. And if that’s you, I want to ask you to consider making some New Year’s resolutions for your finances, to get 2022 (and the rest of your life) off to a cracking start.

And if, like me, you kinda shun the whole idea, perhaps you’ll consider what follows as what it is – just a common sense set of concepts that I reckon, put together, will improve your finances.

So, here’s to 2022.

And to 2023.

And to 2030… and many, many more years into the future, at which point I hope you’ll look back on 2022 as the year in which some decisions made, and habits formed, set you up for a bright financial future.

No, they’re not new. There’s little in investing that truly is. Instead, financial success is far more likely to come from doing the simple things, repeatedly. So, without further ado…

Here are 13 New Year’s Resolutions that I hope will be a touchstone to help you on that journey.

13 Foolish New Year’s Resolutions

To help you become smarter, happier and richer

1. I will live below my means — spending less than I earn.

2. I will save money into a rainy-day fund so I’m ready for what life might bring.

3. I will pay off my credit card debt, and then only spend what I can pay off within the interest free period each month.

4. I will regularly add to my investment account.

5. I will invest money I don’t need for at least 3-5 years to build my nest egg.

6. I will learn more about investing, taking control of my financial future.

7. I will invest in quality businesses, buying a slice of the company, not just a code on a screen.

8. I will buy shares in a company with the intention of holding them for the long term.

9. I will sell when my investment thesis fails, the company is overvalued or I have a better idea.

10. I will avoid anchoring my decisions to the price I paid for my shares.

11. I will remember that the market can be moody and over-react, both on the upside and the downside.

12. I will expect volatility, and I won’t let it spook me into selling. Indeed, volatility can offer me great opportunities!

13. I will let the market offer me prices (be my servant), not dictate my mood or actions (be my master).

(Want a printable version? I’m glad you asked. Here it is!)

Fool on!

The post Resolutions for a better financial future appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Scott Phillips has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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