Equities

A key plank of the highly touted Your Future Your Super legislation is the ‘performance test’ that will apply to industry super funds and other My Super products. The sector had been somewhat immune from targeted regulation for several years, outside of aggressive questioning from Parliamentary committees and sailed through the Royal Commission ultimately unscathed….

In this article we compare infrastructure heavyweights Magellan and ClearBridge (previously known as RARE Infrastructure) and their strategies. While Magellan and its CEO Hamish Douglass need no introduction, the house’s infrastructure fund is run by Gerald Stack. He joined Magellan in 2007 and is concurrently head of investments, head of infrastructure and portfolio manager; he …

ASX gains on travel boost, inflation expectations tempered, but confidence key The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) finished the week strongly, adding 0.8% on Friday, enough to deliver the second straight week of gains. Stimulus was at the top of the agenda this week, with a combination of comments by the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Federal Government setting the direction of markets….

ASX falls flat, travel stocks on fire, more disruption in energy sector  The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) once again failed to capitalise on a strong US lead, finishing the day flat. Once again, dispersion continues to increase with share price movements between companies and sectors elevated. Today it was the travel sector benefitting, with the industrials sector finishing 1.0% higher…

Gold miners surge, technology recovers, iron ore price down 6%, ASX lower The ASX200 couldn’t capitalise on the strong lead from US technology stocks overnight, falling 0.8% as the lack of growth opportunities came to the fore. Afterpay (ASX:APT) returned to strength jumping 7.5% after announcing the acquisition of Pagantis, a BNPL provider with a European presence.  All eyes, however,…

ASX stronger, Greensill risk expands, Vocus (ASX:VOC) deal confirmed  The ASX200 finished 0.5% higher in a mixed day for the market, with the IT and materials sectors remaining the primary drags on performance. The industrials sector which includes a number of infrastructure and more cyclical companies was the highlight, adding 1.1% with the likes of Transurban Group (ASX:TCL) and Sydney…

News broke this week that one of Vanguard’s popular ESG or Environment, Social and Governance-focused strategies may not have been as true to label as one would expect. According to reports and the group’s website, the benchmark index tracked by the fund did not measure up to the name. Holding 4,500 individual fixed income securities,…

ASX finishes higher on volatile day, US stimulus passed, Treasury Wine (ASX:TWE) now a takeover target The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) rallied strongly on the Labour Day public holiday for Victorians, opening 1.7% higher but giving up gains during the session to finish a more modest 0.4% higher. Much of the positive moves were driven by the materials sector,…

ASX down but positive week, energy shines, asset management dispersion  The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) fell 0.7% on Friday but managed to deliver a positive return for the week, finishing 0.6% higher. The commodities sector was hardest hit on Friday, falling 2.0%, with the IT sector continuing to fall as valuations are reset in response to higher bond rates….

ASX down as dividends rule the day, retail sales recover but Myer (ASX:MYR) smashed The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) fell another 0.8% on Thursday, dragged down by a flurry of major companies paying out dividends. The likes of BHP Group (ASX:BHP), CSL (ASX:CSL), and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) fell 3.1%, 4.2%, and 6.2% respectively as they paid out billions of dollars in dividends to income starved…

Hamish Douglass this week presented his ‘The Year of Living Dangerously Webinar’, to thousands of investors and followers across the country. There were no crowds or pyrotechnics, just what appeared to be another Zoom call from Magellan’s Sydney offices. But what the session may have lacked in technology, it delivered in terms of content, analysis…

GDP smashes expectations, ASX rises, economic activity expands  The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) continued its winning ways gaining 0.8% on Wednesday following the release of Australian economic growth results this morning. GDP growth for the December quarter smashed all expectations hitting 3.1% and making Australia one of the fastest growing developed nations in the world. Economists and other experts…