Alternatives

“Where all men think alike, no one thinks very much.” – Walter Lippman This quote was the premise of one of Australia’s longest-standing investment managers, Paul Moore, when presenting at the industry-leading Inside Network Equities and Growth Assets Symposium this month. Commenting on the seemingly never-ending and ubiquitous “groupthink” that pervades investment markets, he suggests…

We spoke with Stephen Coltman, Investment Manager within the Alternatives team at abrdn on the growing importance of portfolio hedging amid growing uncertainty and investor unrest. During times of falling equity markets, rising volatility and elevated drawdowns, Coltman is tasked with delivering positive returns. Speaking about his strategy and overlay, he says, “It’s really designed…

Magellan’s investment in fast growing fintech FinClear is becoming more prescient by the day, with the company this week announcing they will shortly be rolling out a share registry dedicated to private companies. In 2021, the group took over third party clearing house Pershing, which took their technology-driven platform to adminstering some $130 billion in…

It’s time for investors to move heavily into alternatives. That’s the message Evergreen Consultants are sending advisers. Angela Ashton, founder and director of the investment consulting firm, says it is time for investors to explore the alternatives sector more broadly, including gold, commodities, private credit, total-return multi-sector funds and real-asset funds with holdings such as…

“(The biggest benefit) of late stage venture capital is the uncorrelated nature of the asset class,” said Kevin Moss, president and portfolio manager at late stage venture capital manager Liberty Street Advisors (LSA). “Everybody’s looking for the capital gains of course, but this really differentiates the asset class… And history will tell you that periods…

Floods, fires, landslides, earthquakes. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, the impacts of climate change are becoming more pronounced, with many still struggling to understand the implications they have for various asset classes. Long the stalwart of institutional portfolios, commercial properties are among the oldest asset classes in the world, having been…

“Bonds won’t exist in 10 years,” were the words of Vimal Gor, one of the most well-known and respected fixed income managers in the country. He was announcing his departure from Pendal Group, where he had managed as much as $22 billion in fixed income strategies over a multi-decade career. In recent years, Gor has…

Following-on from the COP26 meeting last November, there has been a tectonic shift towards “green” asset investments to ensure that the (voluntary) national goals of the Paris Agreement are met, and there is a rapid reduction of carbon-dioxide emissions to ‘net zero’ levels. The Australian Financial Review said that as of September 30, “sustainable funds…

Funds under management (FUM) in managed accounts jumped in the second half of 2021, with continued growth expected in 2022 through more volatile asset markets, according to new data from the Institute of Managed Account Professionals (IMAP). As at 31 December 2021, FUM in managed accounts stood at $131.65 billion, an increase of $21.06 billion…

Venture capital has been one of the most popular and profitable sectors in which to operate and invest in the last few years. Traditionally, and ultimately still, the primary domain of the ultra-wealthy, pension funds and statutory investors, the sector has delivered returns exceeding 20 per cent a year for many years now. Private equity…

The number one expectation Australians have of financial advisers in 2022 is quite straightforward, according to the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA); they must know about responsible investment. That is according to the more than one thousand people interviewed for the latest Values to Riches survey, 64 per cent of which suggested this was a…

Following the Senate inquiry and recommendations into the crypto sector, Australia is fast on its way to becoming a leading digital innovation hub in the world, attracting overseas crypto and digital companies alike. This week, FTX, the world’s fastest-growing crypto exchange, announced plans to launch in Australia within weeks. 30-year-old founder Sam Bankman-Fried sank millions…