Investing 101

For the right investor, investment bonds can provide a seriously beneficial after-tax return according to Foresters Financial chief executive Emma Sakellaris.

It is striking how little little yield premium equities are offering over the official interest rate at them moment, says Ruffer’s Steve Russel. Investors may be tempted, but he warns that a cautious road may suit for the period ahead.

True to form, US stocks are outperforming Aussie shares on the back of a resurgence in technology-related company valuations. Economists warn against straying from diversification, however, with Aussie miners still offering investors capital returns on top of an underlying hedge against a US downturn.

Dollar-cost averaging allows investors to be in the market for the good days as well as the bad. This can help reduce exposure to market declines, as recent research shines light on the difficulty of timing the market.

Lending specialist Daniel Zwirn spoke candidly about investor “credit myths”, and the misunderstandings that hold people back in the selection and movement of assets in portfolio construction.

Despite its lack of liquidity, PE’s popularity in the institutional and wholesale market is set to filter into the retail market with more fund managers offering a conduit to access the burgeoning sector.

The traditional 60/40 portfolio mix of shares and bonds may be due a shakeup in 2023, as market participants look to add fixed-income exposure to help offset a potentially weak year for equities.

Markets may not always do what’s expected, but fundamental valuations and adherence to timelines will usually win out eventually according to Atrium Investment Management.

The long-running project has been shelved after a devastating Accenture report cited multiple areas of concern. ASIC chair Joe Longo said the ASX “failed to demonstrate appropriate control”.

Stories help investors deal with uncertainty and imperfect knowledge. But contagious narratives which come to dominate can over-inflate expectations – and therefore prices – until a new one challenges and eventually replaces it.

The quantum of US companies has halved since 1996, which plays into the hands of late stage venture gurus.

The analysis required to distinguishing the hot from the irrationally over-heated is about more than numbers, according to Ruffer’s Lauren French.