The Adairs Ltd (ASX: ADH) share price is rocketing higher today after the company announced a strong business update for the first 23 weeks of the 2021 financial year. In opening trade, the Adairs share price shot up 13.3% higher to $3.65, but has since retreated to $3.42, up 6.21%, at the time of writing.

What’s driving the Adairs share price higher

For the period ending 6 December, Adairs reported a robust result across all channels of its business. Despite COVID-19 closing down 43 Melbourne metropolitan stores for 3 months during government restrictions, the company managed to outperform expectations.

Compared to the prior corresponding period, Adairs saw growth in all key metrics. Most notably, its online division recorded a 99.7% increase in sales, which accounted for 39% of total group sales.

While Adairs’ physical stores saw a marginal 5.2% lift, like-for-like sales growth jumped 17.3%. This reflected continued consumer demand across its store network.

Its online furniture business Mocka achieved a 45.1% rise in sales over the comparable period.

Adairs advised that gross margins are tracking well above FY20 levels, with pricing, promotion and sourcing measures implemented.

The company’s inventory levels for its Adairs brand are prepared for the Christmas holiday period.

However, its Mocka inventory levels remain below plan due to the surge in sales that was not foreseen by the company. In addition, longer product lead times has hampered in getting stock more readily available.

First half FY21 guidance

In light of the strong performance achieved, the board decided to provide investors with an earnings guidance for the first half of FY21.

Group sales are anticipated to be somewhere between $235 million and $245 million. In comparison, Adairs achieved $179 million in group sales for 1H FY20.

Underlying group earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) is forecasted to reach $62 million to $66 million. Again, in first half FY20, underlying group EBIT saw $23.2 million realised.

What did management say?

Adairs CEO and managing director Mark Ronan welcomed the positive update, saying:

With a few weeks to go, it is now clear our first half FY21 result will be outstanding and builds on the excellent result in FY20.

Whilst we have clearly been a COVID-19 beneficiary, the result has been delivered through the team’s strong execution against our articulated business strategies and the fundamental strength of our vertical business model. These gains extend across all aspects of our business with Adairs achieving strong growth through our integrated omni-channel model and Mocka delivering strong results as we continue to build momentum and scale.

For the group to achieve an expected EBIT outcome in six months that exceeds the EBIT of the full prior year, which was itself a record for the company, is testament to the strategic health and operational excellence of our business.

About the Adairs share price

The Adairs share price has gone gangbusters over the last 9 months, leaping 729% from its 44-cent low in March.

Adairs has a market capitalisation of $607 million and a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 17.3.

More reading

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• Redcape (ASX:RDC) share price on watch after hotels acquisition
• Will the Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price go higher with reopened borders?
• Why the Douugh (ASX:DOU) share price is pushing higher
• This ASX travel share is already too expensive: fundies

Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends ADAIRS FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ADAIRS FPO. 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 BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) share price has been a positive performer on Tuesday morning.

At the time of writing, the artificial intelligence technology company’s shares are up over 4% to 37 cents.

Why is the BrainChip share price charging higher today?

Investors have been buying the company’s shares this morning after it provided an update on the evaluation boards for its Akida Neuromorphic System-on-Chip (NSoC).

According to the release, the company began shipping the evaluation boards in November.

Management notes that these boards complement its Akida Development Environment (ADE) for Early Access Partners (EAP) that have developed Akida compatible networks.

It explained that the ADE is a robust development environment that allows potential customers to design a neural network as a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). They can then utilise the ADE workflow to convert the network to an event-based CNN or develop a native spiking neural network (SNN).

By implementing an event-based CNN, users can significantly reduce power consumption by processing only non-zero activations and take advantage of the sparsity in most data.

Management commentary.

BrainChip’s CEO, Louis DiNardo, commented, “The Akida NSoC has proven to provide significant power savings and is the complete integration of a neural network design. Akida introduces new and powerful features to the high-growth AI Edge market.”

“True AI Edge learning does not exist with current AI solutions and our ability to provide this and other features while significantly reducing both power consumption, size and the Bill-of-Materials (BOM) has attracted the attention of leading suppliers in the Smart Home, Smart Transportation and Smart City markets,” he added.

The chief executive believes the company’s technology can provide solutions in the healthcare sector.

Mr DiNardo explained: “We believe that these capabilities also will provide new solutions in Smart Healthcare applications that serve our mission of supporting Beneficial AI applications and improve the human condition globally in terms of diagnosis of infectious diseases, cancers and a wide array of challenging global health concerns.”

“We are excited about our technology and the potential to impact many industries including healthcare and energy conservation which are clearly a global concern,” he concluded.

More reading

• ASX small caps could get a boost with the Aussie dollar hitting 28-month highs
• Here’s why the BrainChip (ASX:BRN) share price is zooming 8% higher

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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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Pubs operator Redcape Hotel Group Pty Ltd (ASX: RDC) has continued its buying spree, announcing today that it has acquired two pubs in Queensland for $27.5 million.

In early morning trading, The Redcape share price rose marginally by 0.5% to 95.5 cents but has since retreated to its opening price of 95 cents.

Acquisitions strategy

Redcape advised it has acquired the Shafston Hotel in Kangaroo Point, and the Aspley Hotel in Aspley, for a total amount of $27.5 million. This increases its portfolio in Queensland to eight hotels.

There will be no capital raising as the acquisitions will be funded from existing resources, with settlement anticipated prior to June 2021.

Previously owned by an offshore hospitality vendor, Redcape says the hotels will now be owned and operated by a proven local operator who understands Australian suburban communities, and the important role pubs play as social meeting places.

The company says the new hotels will be revitalised by “considerable capital investment”.

Today’s acquisition represents Redcape’s second major acquisition in a month. In late November, the company announced that it had acquired the Gladstone Hotel in Dulwich Hill, Western Sydney, for $38 million.

Redcape chief executive Dan Brady says that these acquisitions are part of the company’s long term strategy.

“The incorporation of these two Queensland hotels into the portfolio following the acquisition of the Gladstone Hotel in Sydney’s inner west last month, provides further evidence of a return to our strategy, post the COVID-19 trading disruption,” he said.

Today’s acquisitions bring the company’s total portfolio to 35 hotels under management.

Strong first-quarter

In September, Redcape reported positive trading results for the first quarter of FY21, and said it expected to deliver earnings higher than the equivalent period last year.

The company reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $24 million in the first quarter, up from $19.5 million.

In that announcement, Redcape also said that it would reinstate dividends after suspending them temporarily during the pandemic lockdown period.

The Redcape share price in 2020

The Redcape share price has lost almost 15% this year, after shutting down most its establishments in the early part of the year due to the government-imposed restrictions.

The share price began the year at $1.11, but dropped to as low as 44 cents in March at the height of the lockdown period. It has since bounced back to today’s levels, but still a long way off from its 52-week high of $1.135.

Redcape currently commands a market value of $525 million.

More reading

• What will new acquisition mean for Redcape (ASX:RDC) share price?

Motley Fool contributor Eddy Sunarto 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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The first shipments of a COVID-19 vaccine have been delivered to the United Kingdom in super-cold containers, two days before a much anticipated public immunisation program. 

Back at home, restrictions continue to ease as the new COVID-normal sets in. ASX travel shares have been propped higher in recent weeks on the back of reopening borders. Could this see the Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price make a further recovery? 

December market update 

Qantas expects to start repairing its balance sheet during the second half of FY21 as domestic borders reopen, cost reduction programs kick in and loyalty and freight divisions continue to help move the company into recovery mode. 

Group domestic capacity is expected to increase to 68% of pre-COVID levels for December, rising to nearly 80% in the third quarter of FY21. This compares with the 20% capacity in the first quarter and around 40% in the second quarter of of FY21. 

Trading conditions have also vastly improved to match the airline’s rising domestic capacity. Over 200,000 fares were sold for flights to Queensland in the 72 hours after the border openings with Sydney and Victoria were announced. 

The airline believes that changes in the broader domestic market have seen a number of large corporate customers move to Qantas this year, a trend that has accelerated in the past few months. Qantas expects to see its domestic market share of above 70% to be maintained. 

Overall, the company will post a substantial statutory loss for FY21 but expects to be close to break even at the underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) level for the first half and net free cash flow positive in the second half. This assumes no material domestic border closures and no material international travel until at least the end of June 2021 beyond an increase in trans-Tasman flying to New Zealand. 

Qantas freight and loyalty 

Qantas freight continues to perform due to the spike in e-commerce volumes across its domestic freighter network and high yields on the international freighter network. To add some perspective, in the company’s FY20 results, net passenger revenue stood at $12.18 billion while net freight revenue was at $1.045 billion. Qantas freight is also doing preliminary work on logistics for transporting COVID-19 vaccines at cold temperatures. 

Qantas loyalty has been the group’s most profitable segment with $1.224 billion in revenue and $341 million in EBIT in FY20. Financial services and retail partners have been the two main earnings drivers, followed by loyalty’s own ventures. 

Cautiously optimistic 

A recovery is taking place for the beaten up travel and tourism industry, but Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce remains cautious given the various unknowns. He highlights the uncertainty around the domestic economy, particularly once broader government support winds back, the dependency on a vaccine rollout and the standstill for international travel. 

More reading

• This ASX travel share is already too expensive: fundies
• Regional Express (ASX:REX) share price soars to 13-year high
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• The meaning of ‘diversification’ when it comes to ASX shares
• Why BetMakers, Medical Development International, Qantas, & Zip are dropping lower

Motley Fool contributor Lina Lim 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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The Douugh Ltd (ASX: DOU) share price is edging higher on Tuesday following the release of an announcement.

At the time of writing, the financial wellness app provider’s shares are up 1% to 23.8 cents.

What did Douugh announce?

This morning Douugh revealed that it has successfully completed a $12 million placement to institutional and sophisticated investors. This includes financial services company Humm Group Ltd (ASX: HUM), which was a cornerstone investor with a $2.5 million investment.

These funds were raised a 22 cents per share, which represented a ~24% discount to the Douugh share price at the time of the placement announcement.

Following this placement, Dough now has a cash balance of $16 million. It feels this puts it in a position to significantly accelerate product development measures and customer acquisition initiatives in the United States.

Speaking of which, management also provided an update on its recent performance. No customer numbers have been provided by the company, but management advised that it has been experiencing incremental growth week on week in line with its expectations.

What is Douugh trying to achieve?

Douugh is seeking to provide consumers with a platform that helps them better manage their money and become financially healthier through a smart bank offering.

However, its app doesn’t have any game-changing features at present and most can be found across other banking, payment, and finance apps.

Though, it is attempting to add to them in the future. One such offering will be a buy now pay later (BNPL) option in partnership with Humm.

This feature will allow customers to borrow up to $1,000 and repay it in six automatic weekly instalments. This is expected to be launched into the increasingly crowded US BNPL market within the next six months.

Douugh will be responsible for technology, credit decisions, and customer service, whereas Humm will provide warehouse funding, the BNPL technology, and be responsible for credit losses and collections.

More reading

• Why the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price continues to dominate
• ASX 200 rises on Tuesday
• Why the Douugh (ASX:DOU) share price is rocketing 15% higher today
• Flexigroup rebrands to Humm (ASX:HUM) on the ASX today
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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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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The travel industry was pretty much forced to shut down this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

But now as interstate borders reopen and possible vaccines offer hope for future international trips, share prices for the sector are starting to look up.

But two fund managers have warned there is one prominent ASX travel stock that is already a potential value trap.

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) has flown from $11.26 at the end of October to now $17.90 – an almost 60% climb in just 5 weeks.

It’s thus already overvalued, said NAOS Asset Management Limited portfolio manager Ben Rundle.

“What investors are missing with Flight Centre is that the majority of their earnings actually come from the corporate side of the business,” he told Livewire.

“That corporate market, I don’t think is going to recover as quickly as everyone thinks. While the leisure market might be full when everyone’s piling into airports to go on holidays, I think they’re overestimating the benefit that Flight Centre will get from that.”

Flight Centre has raised a lot of cash and closed a lot of stores

In its 2020 financial year results, Flight Centre revealed it had a cost base of $230 million per month. The company was forced to raise $900 million in April to stay alive then issued $400 million in convertible notes last month.

Flight Centre has also closed 408 retail stores this year, leaving just 332 to recoup the losses.

Forager Australian Shares Fund (ASX: FOR) chief investment officer Steve Johnson said Flight Centre’s current price already has recovery built-in.

“The bull case might be, ‘Well, as this business recovers, all of that working capital comes back into the business and you can give the cash back to shareholders’,” he told Livewire.

“I don’t mind the business. I think it’s got some long-term issues, but again, I think the share price is fully pricing in the recovery that is going to come.”

Other travel shares also rallied in November on the back of favourable conditions. Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) has risen 65% since the end of October, Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) is up 31%, and Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) is 32% higher.

More reading

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• The meaning of ‘diversification’ when it comes to ASX shares
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns shares of Corporate Travel Management Limited, Qantas Airways Limited, and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Corporate Travel Management Limited and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended 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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Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) has opened its biggest-ever ‘dark store’, just in time to cater for massive Christmas demand.

But customers will not be allowed in, as the western Sydney facility is purely dedicated to fulfilling online orders.

The Lidcombe store is 15,000 square metres, which is roughly 4 times the size of a normal full-service supermarket (or 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools, as Woolworths likes to say).

The year of COVID-19 has seen an explosion in electronic grocery shopping. Online sales for Woolworths were up 100% year on year in the period between July and September this year.

Online business is now 8% of Woolworths’ total supermarket sales.

“We’re seeing more and more of our customers turn to the ease and convenience of online grocery delivery in western Sydney,” Woolworths director of e-commerce Annette Karantoni said.

“To keep pace with demand, we’re investing in new online infrastructure to offer our customers more delivery windows and an even more reliable service. This is particularly important as we head into Christmas, when customers are busy and looking for ways to reclaim time with their loved ones.”

How do dark stores work?

The new fulfilment centre will add more than 20,000 delivery slots for online customers in Sydney. Up to 900 new jobs will be created by the need for personal shoppers.

Dark stores have wider aisles and more shelf space to allow personal shopper staff to pick items more efficiently. And of course, they don’t have to worry about bumping into regular customers.

The Lidcombe facility will allow personal shoppers to pick from 20,000 products. Woolworths already has dark stores running in Brookvale in northern Sydney and Botany in the south-east.

Woolworths shares were up 1.94% on Monday, to close trade at $38.45 but have dipped 0.23% lower in early trade today. The Woolworths share price was as high as $43.60 just before the COVID-19 market crash in March.

Shares for the supermarket giant, similar to other consumer staples, fell 4% last month while the rest of the market boomed. Major brokers, however, retain price targets between $40.80 and $44.00 for Woolworths.

More reading

• Goldman says buy the Metcash (ASX:MTS) share price ahead of next week’s results
• Why healthcare, tech and consumer staples shares underperformed the ASX 200 in November
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 on track for a top month
• 3 ASX companies named and shamed as worst in industry
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX continues to climb, despite outage

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Woolworths 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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The rebound in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) might be grabbing headlines with its dramatic rebound, but it’s the ASX small caps that’re outperforming.

What’s more, the market minnows might keep their lead as we head into 2021 with the Aussie dollar hitting a more than two-year high.

ASX Small caps outperforming ASX large caps

The top 200 stocks are at just about breakeven since the start of the year as they rapidly recovered from the COVID‐19 sell-off. But that isn’t as impressive as the S&P/ASX SMALL ORDINARIES [XSO] (Index:^AXSO), which has gained 6.5%.

Some of the best small cap performers include the Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) share price, Race Oncology Ltd (ASX: RAC) share price, Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) share price and Pointerra Ltd (ASX: 3DP) share price.

2021 outlook for ASX small caps

The outperformance of ASX junior stocks could continue into 2021 as long as risk appetite remains strong. One reason for my optimism is the strong Australian dollar, which touched US74.53 cents overnight. It’s since pulled back but it’s still trading above US74 cents.

What’s more, the Aussie battler could strengthen further in 2021. Currency experts believe that the US dollar will be on the backfoot in the year ahead for a few reasons, reported CNN.

Stronger Australian dollar a tailwind

One reason is growing confidence in the global recovery from the COVID economic shock. When investors are feeling confident, they typically shun safe heavens like the US dollar.

The US Federal Reserve is another reason why the US dollar could stay weak relative to other currencies, including the Aussie. These central bankers are quick to pull the trigger on stimulus to keep the American economy out of trouble. Such money-printing measures will weaken the greenback.

Then there’s the transition to a Biden presidency from Trump. Tariffs have been a weapon of choice for outgoing President Donald Trump, particularly against China. Tariffs tend to strengthen the US dollar as geopolitical tensions rise.

Joe Biden is seen as a more moderate leader, and even if he doesn’t unwind Trump’s tariffs, Biden may be reluctant to impose new ones. He is after all seen as a peacemaker.

Stronger local economy better for ASX small caps

But there is another tailwind for ASX small cap stocks in 2021, in my view. This is to do with Australia’s economy, which is outperforming the US and many other Western nations.

Our stronger domestic economy is attributed to Australia’s ability to control the pandemic. ASX small caps typically do better in such an environment as they are more leveraged to the local economy and are net importers.

A higher Australian dollar will make it cheaper for them to import goods and services to sell domestically.

In contrast, ASX large caps tend to do the opposite. The stronger Aussie and weaker overseas markets are a double headwind for some of the big boys.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• ASX 200 rises on Monday
• Here’s why the Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) share price is up more than 50% over the past month
• Regional Express (ASX:REX) share price soars to 13-year high
• Watch out! ASX IPO boom may sink the ASX bull market in 2021

Brendon Lau has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Pointerra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pointerra 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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The Althea Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: AGH) share price is storming higher on Tuesday morning.

At the time of writing, the medical cannabis company’s shares are up 4.5% to 57 cents.

Why is the Althea share price storming higher?

Investors have been buying the company’s shares this morning following the release of a market update.

According to the release, in November Althea achieved its highest monthly revenue of $847,499. This was driven by the company recording its highest number of new patients and new healthcare professionals (HCPs) per business day.

In light of this and thanks to an excellent start to December, management revealed that it is on track to deliver its biggest quarter to date.

How are its businesses performing?

The release explains that Althea Australia recorded an average of 41.71 new patients and 2.24 new HCPs per business day. This was driven partly by a strong rebound in Victoria following a long COVID-19 lockdown.

It led to its Australian operations posting $737,121 of unaudited revenue in November.

Management expects its Australian growth to normalise in the coming months as the country’s economy continues to recover.

Over in the UK, the company reported 48% month on month growth. This led to unaudited revenue of $110,378 for November.

Althea continues to execute on its early mover advantage in the territory, with approximately half of its prescriptions generated from its wholly-owned subsidiary, MyAccess Clinics.

Althea CEO Josh Fegan said: “I recently relocated permanently to London with my family to oversee the growth of the Althea brand in the UK and EU. With our market access strategy starting to resonate with UK prescribers and regulatory headwinds well and truly behind us, it is great to see our many months of hard work beginning to pay off.”

“Our established Australian business continues to perform strongly, and we are looking forward to entering 2021 with fantastic momentum,” he added.

More reading

• Althea (ASX:AGH) share price lifts 10% today. Here’s why
• Why the Althea (ASX:AGH) share price soared 6% today
• Why the Althea (ASX:AGH) share price is climbing higher today
• Why Althea, BWX, Damstra, & GrainCorp shares are charging higher
• Althea (ASX:AGH) share price on watch following 2 new agreements

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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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Mirroring Warren Buffett’s insistence on purchasing high-quality companies could allow an investor to generate a larger passive income in retirement. Such companies may offer more impressive profit growth and higher returns than their peers in the long run.

Furthermore, adopting his long-term focus may mean that compounding has a longer timeframe through which to positively impact on the value of a retirement portfolio.

Meanwhile, his insistence on having cash savings at all times may mean it is easier to purchase undervalued shares in a stock market crash. This could have a positive impact on an investor’s retirement prospects.

Warren Buffett’s focus on high-quality companies

Warren Buffett has always sought to purchase high-quality companies that can go on to deliver impressive profit growth over the long run. His main focus has been on acquiring businesses that have wide economic moats, or competitive advantages, over their peers. For example, they may include businesses with a unique product or a large amount of customer loyalty that means they can enjoy higher margins.

High-quality companies may experience a higher rate of profit growth over the long run. As such, this may mean that they command higher valuations that increase the size of a retirement portfolio. A larger portfolio may make it easier to generate a growing passive income in retirement.

A long-term focus on cheap stocks

Of course, Warren Buffett has also aimed to purchase high-quality companies when they trade at low prices. This provides a wide margin of safety that can mean strong capital appreciation prospects.

However, in many cases, it has taken his holdings a number of years to deliver on their potential. In fact, some of his holdings have experienced significant disappointments along the way, or have been negatively impacted by weak investor sentiment at times.

Warren Buffett has often provided such companies with sufficient time to deliver on their potential. In doing so, he has focused on the quality of the business and largely ignored how the share price is performing. And, since a company’s share price usually follows its bottom line higher, this strategy could lead to impressive returns over the long term that encourage an investor’s retirement portfolio to grow in size.

Holding cash – but not for a passive income

Warren Buffett has always held relatively large amounts of cash. Clearly, the returns on cash are unlikely to encourage a larger retirement portfolio that can offer a more attractive passive income.

However, holding cash provides the opportunity to quickly react to buying opportunities across the stock market. For example, purchasing shares at low prices following a bear market can provide greater scope for capital growth over the long run. And, as the 2020 stock market crash showed, opportunities to do so can be short-lived. Therefore, having some cash on hand at all times may ultimately lead to a higher retirement portfolio valuation that can produce a more attractive passive income in older age.  

More reading

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• Why this analyst thinks the Domino’s (ASX:DMP) share price is a ‘buy’
• Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price in focus after business update
• Top ASX shares to buy in December 2020
• G8 Education (ASX:GEM) share price on watch after trading update

Motley Fool contributor Peter Stephens has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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