With records still being set by both equities and bond markets, investor uncertainty abounds. It would seem that these times are made for both active management and experience. Among bond markets, the possibility of higher inflation, especially in the US, is prompting fears of rising interest rates, and therefore falling prices, with investors looking further…
Evergreen Consultants has teamed with Generation Life for the launch of an ESG-orientated multi-manager investment bond, believed to be an industry first. The bond follows a model portfolio developed by Evergreen, called the Responsible Growth Model. The research and ratings firm says the model was created to provide advisers and investors with a long-term portfolio…
Australian investors put more money into traditional equity funds in February and March than they did in the whole of 2019, prior to the impact of covid-19. A new index shows Australians also had more conviction. According to figures from Calastone, which passes about 95 per cent of all fund flows, mostly from platforms, to…
More high-net-worth (HNW) investors are open to receiving financial advice than a year ago, but they are yet to do so, according to the latest report from Investment Trends. There were an estimated 485,000 such investors on September 30 last. The report, the 13th in the firm’s annual series, is billed as the largest of…
Factor manager Research Affiliates appears to be charging in where value managers are still nervous to tread, with a big call on the state of global markets and where the main opportunity lies – UK equities. Mike Aked, Research Affiliates’ director of research for Australia, said last week (March 17) that the firm had identified…
The chief executive-elect of AMP Limited, once a financial services giant in size and stature – boasting for a time the advertising slogan: ‘We will always be there’ – faces the biggest task of her career. Her track record could not be better. The advertising slogan sounded good, if overly ambitious, for its post-IPO times. The sector’s predilection for…
While it may be only short term, the Government’s stimulus measures over the past 12 months have helped Australia’s listed companies to their best half-yearly reporting season in ten years. In its latest report on the state of the companies following their shareholder reports for the six months to December, equities manager Martin Currie Australia…
Individual investors in Australia are increasingly optimistic about the future for their own portfolios and the world in general – significantly more so than others in the region, according to a survey by PIMCO. The ‘PIMCO APAC Investor Sentiment Survey Q4 2020’ shows a surge in optimism compared with the same questions being asked for…
This is not another “now is the time for value” story. Really. Perhaps the unique nature of the market’s record run in growth over value has been to do with our definition of value. Here are some alternative thoughts. According to a paper from Amundi Asset Management, ‘Do Not Give Up on Fundamental Valuations’, investors are struggling…
Australian Ethical, which is already the equal-largest manager of specialist ESG-related funds in Australia, alongside Vanguard, is now aiming to be among the largest of all managers with Australian businesses operating in the wholesale and retail space. And it is hoping technology will help. The manager (ASX: AEF) has partnered with a specialist start-up Alta…
