Alternatives

Given the global outlook is clearly one of a high degree of risk, it is surprising that all forms of risk assets seem to continually defy all the negative outlooks. Traditional asset allocations have been heavily tied to equity market growth and the continual decline in risk free interest rates over the past 30 years….

REA Group (ASX:REA) – Posted it 1H result last Friday, the result coming in slight better than expectations, shares closing the day +1.87%.

The eye of the beholder More than ever, one considers prospects from the domain within one resides. Locally, we in Victoria naturally have a bleak view compared to the states with few COVID cases. Have a conversation with associates in the US on nearly any topic and inevitably strongly held views are exposed. Opinions on…

The Australian share market and ASX200 (ASX: XJO) finished the week down 0.2%, with the renewed confidence following the extension of the JobKeeper program offset by China’s growing combativeness and weakness in the US technology sector.

Alignment of interest is a concept basic to a great many modes of human behaviour yet in the funds management sector it does not necessarily receive the attention it deserves.

Often dubbed the ‘original fintech’s’, the wealth management platform space is becoming a highly competitive area as disruptive innovative start-ups threaten the status quo and cashed up platforms actively acquire businesses to leapfrog ahead. Following on from the Royal Banking Commission, a record number of advisers shifted towards non-aligned financial advice, away from a vertically integrated banking world. Consumer led demand has forced advisers to become a lot more mindful that the selection of the right platform can significantly impact the outcome for their businesses and their clients.

Investors are realising that without meaningful technology exposure, their portfolios are missing a major growth driver. However, the difficulty of picking individual stocks should not be under-estimated, with the innovations and business models of many tech stocks hard to grapple with.

The days of thinking wholly in terms of traditional asset classes when it comes to portfolio construction may have been numbered for some time; in Australia, the Future Fund’s statement of investment policies, when it started its investing life in July 2007, was perhaps the first sign that there could be a new way of thinking, with the usual categories of equities and debt securities subordinated to a distinction between “tangible” assets (defined as property, infrastructure and utilities, in listed or unlisted form); “alternative” assets, considered to include a range of risk premiums (for example, commodities and futures and insurance-based strategies); and skill-based absolute-return investments, or “intangible” assets.

The pandemic lockdown has forced businesses to rethink modes of distribution and introduce automation in response to an increase in online shopping for essential items. Qube and Goodman Group have welcomed the opportunity to expand operations with some of Australia’s biggest retailers. Integrated port and logistics provider Qube is at the forefront of driving automation…

The listing on the ASX this month of the Magellan Group’s Airlie Australian Share Fund as the first “Quoted Fund” – the first dual unlisted unit trust and active exchange-traded fund (ETF) structure in one listed unit – has been cited as a game-changer in many respects, with the primary emphasis being on its benefit…

A lot of us spend an inordinate amount of time reading through erudite commentators on anything related to markets. ‘Stay informed’ is a common headline logo. Does this collective wisdom improve investment decisions? The current equity rally has a fountain of opinion on why and what it means. Wordplay is part of the fun: FOMA,…

The toughest asset sector in an investment portfolio is the fixed income. Putting aside the difficulties in convincing an investor to have an allocation to fixed income when the conversation is sprinkled with mind-numbing terms such as duration, curves, and spreads, the even greater problem is low yields. Blind Freddie (rubbery etymology, with likely reference…