Markets

Markets are expensive, driven by powerful forces which want to turn a 40-year bull market into the first ever 50-year one. That trend is not one to embrace, and standing in its way could put investors in dire straits, writes Jonathan Ruffer.

It doesn’t matter whether funds mislead investors with intent or not, and it doesn’t matter if other parties were partly to blame. The authorities have had enough of the excuses, and they’re lobbing record fines at transgressors.

The entrenched position of the banks and miners in the ASX 200 doesn’t necessarily correlate to inherent growth potential, especially with the issues both sectors face into. For investors, it may be worth considering an alternative path broad market exposure.

Pessimists are still trying to shoehorn the “bubble” narrative into the private capital story, but an EY report highlights not only the rise of this burgeoning ‘alternative’ sector, but the reasons it’s likely to keep growing.

The small-cap space can be rife with risk, as emotion and understanding wrestle with common sense practice. But with a systematic style overlaid to provide flexibility, diversification and liquidity, the benefits become clear.

The private market sector has grown to the point that it has a thriving secondaries market operating behind it, which puts investors in line to benefit from the twin pillars of risk mitigation and upside return potential.

It’s one thing to acknowledge the immense computing power at our disposal, but it’s another for leading investment teams to figure out the best ways to shape that advantage into better investment outcomes.

There are three things that an Australian private credit provider should be focussed on, and capital preservation is the “absolute number one”, according to Craig Brooke from KeyInvest.

The mainstream energy transition narrative has evolved in light of recent social, political and economic shifts, Pzena says. as the manager takes a deep dive into the credibility of company transition plans.

The Brisbane-based private equity team has made a point of seeking out investee companies that are well equipped to handle a slow-motion recovery in the domestic economy.

With the danger of fractured markets inflated, the need for a truly non-correlative asset is at a premium. And with the default system cleaned up, Fortlake saw an opportunity to provide investors with the ultimate diversifier.

The sharp fall in markets in August was a sign of things to come, according to Ruffer, but one that investors haven’t heeded, with positioning and sentiment becoming even more extreme.