Asset Allocation

Everybody wants certainty, but it’s the one thing in short supply in markets today.

Australia’s managed fund industry shrank in the March quarter of 2022 from the December 2021 quarter to $4.48 trillion

“We spend the majority of our research time on understanding industries,” explained Catherine Allfrey, portfolio manager of Wavestone Capital, when presenting to leading financial advisers at The Inside Network’s Equities Symposium in Perth last month.

It’s been two years since Covid-19 reared its ugly head, sweeping fear and panic across global markets and forcing central banks to release massive amounts of stimulus to safeguard against any further deterioration.

“Have we really thought about the investment implications of a world in which inflation is persistent?” That was the question posed by Dr Joseph Lai of Ox Capital.

Absolute return or ‘market neutral’ equity strategies as they are widely known, may well be one of the most difficult approaches to understand for many advisers, but also to manage successfully over the long-term for portfolio managers.

Markets have been incredibly difficult. At the moment there are so many different things going on all at once, slowing growth, rising inflation and on top of that the emergence of black swan events, have caught many, by surprise.

The events in Russia and Ukraine offered a real time insight into the challenges facing ESG, ethical and sustainable investors around the world.

In a world gone social media crazy, having an influential media presence along with a few hundred thousand Twitter followers will secure you more than a yearly wage.

The United Nations has described the managers of global real estate assets as ‘one of the most important decision-making groups on Earth’.

Funds into thematic exchange traded funds (ETFs) have dried up this year as technology stocks get hit globally.

From Covid to conflict, all it took was just a few weeks for the market to shift its attention to the unfolding crisis in Ukraine and away from the pandemic.