Markets

The huge movement in commodity prices in the past year cannot have escaped any investor’s attention. Should there be new allocations to commodities and resource stocks on the basis we are in a prolonged period of price rises? Over the past 150 years there have been only four major commodity cycles that have lasted for…

Despite the recent renaissance of so-called ‘value’ investing, sustained underperformance has wiped out the longer-term gains traditionally attributed to this style of investing. Yet headlines and fund manager communiques remain full of hope for the sector. Is value investing dead forever? Or what is even alive? These are questions that Invesco’s Australian Equities team recently…

The wave of institutional adoption of cryptocurrency assets has been on the rise since the start of 2021. Leading banks and financial institutions have started to offer services in digital assets to the public. Several hedge fund billionaires including Ray Dalio and Stanley Druckenmiller have unveiled their crypto positions. Although the number of prominent names…

2020 and much of 2021 have been fertile hunting grounds for smaller-company investors in Australia. So much so, that the last 12 months has seen an influx of new managers raising money to invest in pre-IPO, IPO, and other fast-growing small-cap sectors. Firetrail’s Australian Smaller Companies Fund, while launched in February 2020, is no Johnny-come-lately….

The “green” future is covered in dirt. As the proposed shift toward carbon targets and decarbonisation continues apace, it is increasingly clear that the shift will rely heavily on old-fashioned commodities. These range from the well-known metals, including lithium and copper, to the lesser lights in nickel and manganese.  Presenting on the topic ‘Eyes on…

The Australian market is in a world of its own, pushing ahead with a strong post-pandemic-led recovery while a rebound of the global economy is edging closer and looks like it will come over the coming quarters. The team at DNR Capital Australian Emerging Companies Fund continues to select quality growth stocks for its Australian…

Simon Adler, who heads up the Equity Value fund at Schroders, presented at The Inside Network’s recent Equities & Growth Assets symposium, discussing the topic, ‘The War is Over” â€” meaning the “war” between Value and Growth â€” and highlighting the opportunity set for ‘value’ investing after more than a decade of underperformance compared to ‘growth’. Adler joined Schroders…

The mooted transition to net-zero will have an “uneven impact” across sectors, presenting opportunity and risk in equal measure, according to JP Morgan Asset Management. Companies that can achieve climate-based technology solutions are set to be the “biggest beneficiaries” of any new environmental initiatives, with autos in the hot seat as one of the most…

The ETF world has multiplied well beyond expectations. Index-linked ETFs are now a standard-bearer for investment portfolios driven by sticky active fund fees and variable performance. Yet their use versus desired outcome point to ease in choice, rather than a more considered approach. Additionally, advisers are often taking a stab at a regional index to compensate…

“It’s like drinking from a firehose.” That’s the way Qiao Ma describes the experience of meeting with some of China’s, and Asia’s for that matter, emerging group of company leaders. Speaking at The Inside Network’s Equities & Growth Assets Symposium, Qiao was challenged to deliver unique insights from her extensive experience pounding the pavement in…

Infrastructure assets, which range from utilities such as electricity generation, to assets that facilitate the movement of the population, such as airports and toll roads, faced a near “perfect storm” in 2020. Historically billed as a less volatile alternative than direct equities, few infrastructure investors, or anyone for that matter, saw the pandemic and associated…

Shares bounce back, Victorian budget disappoints, mixed unemployment result The ASX200 (ASX: XJO) clawed back most of Wednesday’s losses, adding 1.3% on Thursday as the risk-on environment returned. The rally was powered ahead by the tech sector, 4.3% higher, along with property trusts, up 2.6%, and consumer discretionary stocks, up 1.7%. It was Qantas (ASX: QAN) that drove the…