About this episode
The Vatican is launching its own equity indexes (and the top holdings might not be what you expect). In the second installment of the Equity Mates Community Portfolio Scott pitches Playside Studios. Bryce and Ren also unpack the biggest earnings season themes, from AI CapEx to tariffs, before finishing with a practical breakdown of currency risk and hedging for ETF investors.In this episode:0:00 Disclaimer + intro0:52 The Vatican Bank launches Catholic equity indexes4:28 US earnings season: equal-weight beating Big Tech5:56 AI CapEx explodes + tariffs squeeze margins8:17 Australia reporting season: CSL shock, CBA surge, Macquarie threat10:29 Community Stock Pitch: Playside Studios 17:59 Currency risk explained: why hedging matters26:57 Hedged vs unhedged ETF returns + the fee trade-offStocks & ETFs mentioned: Meta (NASDAQ:META), Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Ford (NYSE:F), Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL), Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG), Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL), LVMH (EPA:MC), Dollar General (NYSE:DG), Target (NYSE:TGT), Walmart (NYSE:WMT), Kroger (NYSE:KR), CSL (ASX:CSL), Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA), Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG), Xero (ASX:XRO), Playside Studios (ASX:PLY), iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (ASX:IVV), iShares S&P 500 AUD Hedged ETF (ASX:IHVV), Betashares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX:NDQ), Betashares NASDAQ 100 Currency Hedged ETF (ASX:HNDQ)Want to get involved in the podcast? Record a voice note or send us a message And come and join the conversation in the Equity Mates Facebook Discussion Group.———Want more Equity Mates? Across books, podcasts, video and email, however you want to learn about investing – we’ve got you covered.Keep up with the news moving markets with our daily newsletter and podcast (Apple | Spotify)———Looking for some of our favourite research tools?Download our free Basics of ETF handbookOr our free 4-step stock checklistFind company information on