Asset Allocation

Big Australian Wins Battle of the Bulks OK, so you want to own a big global diversified bulk miner, to take advantage of the impending commodities boom – let’s take a look at the contenders, BHP and Rio Tinto. Here’s the tale of the tape. BHP (BHP, $36.35)Market capitalisation: $183.7 billionOne-year total return: +6.9%Three-year total…

Markets have strongest week in months, ASX up 5.4%, S&P 500 up 3.9%, stimulus on again The ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) delivered its strong week since April, finishing 5.4% higher despite finishing flat on Friday. It was a similar story in the US, with the S&P 500 adding 0.9% on Friday and 3.9% for the week. The…

One of the great investment success stories of the last 25 years has been the exchange-traded fund (ETF), which got under way in the early 1990s as a vehicle offering access in one listed stock, to the entire stock market through tracking an index. Gone were the worries of paying “active” management fees and failing…

With the end of the month comes another round of investment manager portfolio updates. This week we move our attention to tech company valuations, with the Nasdaq 100 down close to 7% in the last month. The August updates from Hyperion Asset Management, one of the top-performing global equity strategies over the last 12 months,…

ASX nears three month low, Magellan (ASX:MFG) takes a swing, US markets head lower The selling pressure continued on Monday, the ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) falling another 0.7%, now nearing the low points of June.  The selling was widespread, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX:BHP) down 1.4% and 1.2% respectively.  The biggest…

Lacklustre Tuesday, positive China data triggers a global rally, RBA minutes offer little The banking sector was among the weakest on Tuesday, falling 1.4%, with the ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) finishing the day flat. The Australian house price index fell 1.8% on the previous quarter, sending the Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd (ASX:CBA) down 1.7% as…

Victorian lockdowns extended, markets remain calm, Labor Day holiday in the US, ASX to open higher The market responded positively to news that the majority of Victorians will remain under stringent lockdown measures well into November; the ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) finishing 0.3% higher. Transurban Group (ASX:TCL) was among the hardest hit from the announcement, with…

As Covid-19 cases drop, and talk of CSL’s vaccine starts, it shouldn’t be too much longer before lockdown restrictions ease and the economy is back on track.

August gains lost in a day, QBEs culture crisis, RBA looking dovish, higher open ahead With reporting season complete, markets are once again turning to economic data and vaccine hopes. It wasn’t a great start to Spring, with the ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) falling 1.8% and giving back nearly all the gains achieved in August. The…

Broker upgrades 24-28 August 2020 Redbubble (ASX:RBL) –   Morgans has upgraded its recommendation to Add from Reduce. That’s effectively a double ratings upgrade with a target price of 433c up from 54c. A 700% increase in target price. The massive upgrade comes on the back of the company’s recent profit result. The result reinforced…

Semiconductors would have to be one of the most pervasive and critical pieces of technology in our daily lives – but they are usually not thought about very much. They certainly don’t seem to get the investment love like they should, or get talked about as much as, say, the FAANG stocks or electric vehicle…

Since our 2020 Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) review in June, we have remained modestly underweight the SAA reflecting concern about prospects for the asset class in the current environment. Recently, we reduced this exposure further, as our conviction has built that real estate will underperform the broader equity market over the medium term. Below, we…