Asset management

Is private equity (PE) the key missing part of adviser portfolios? Endowments, the Future Fund (FF) et al, have heralded their high allocation to PE amid claims to better outcomes than those labouring in listed equity markets. This is not the first time the issue has been raised, the Future Fund is noting its allocation…

Interest rates and hence yields from most classes of investment, have experienced significant compression. This is true of cash, fixed interest and equities. Elevated listed equity market valuations have further compounded the problem as investors also seek downside protection or at least volatility buffers. Private debt has the benefit of both, yield, and downside protection….

Devastating floods, unseasonal hurricanes, excessive droughts, megafires, and more demonstrate how extreme water risk is global now. From an investor’s perspective, the economic implications of risks related to water are significant and should be a consideration when investing. By 2030, the global population will likely exceed nine billion and the world will require 40% more…

Fixed-income investors, all investors for that matter, should be prepared for ‘higher market volatility’ for the remainder of 2021, according to independent asset manager Neuberger Berman. The comments come from their recently published outlook report for the September quarter of 2021, titled ‘Course Correction or Policy Framework Change’, in which heir extensive fixed income team…

Over the past month, Australians have been reminded that the COVID-19 pandemic is still keeping the country in check. Like many other countries around the globe, the lockdowns have wrought havoc on local business and more broadly, the global economy. Given the urgency and immediacy of the recent outbreaks and lockdowns, it’s perhaps not surprising…

The now not-so-new ETFs that follow well-known indices have been a hugely welcome introduction. One does not have to debate the inexplicable underperformance of the majority of active managers, the sometimes usurious fees, the change in teams, and other influences that take up time and effort. The pressure is to explain what they really mean…

Semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML, paint and coating company Sherwin-Williams, and payments company Mastercard are examples of stocks which possess the ‘duration effect’, or the ability to compound their free cash flows over time, according to Eileen Riley, CFA, Co-Portfolio Manager of the Loomis Sayles Global Equity Fund. The following are key take-outs from my recent…

It is an all-too-common occurrence these days that a financial adviser meets a prospective client following a significant inheritance, divorce or in the worst-case death of a partner, with the surviving party having little in the way of financial let alone investment experience. The sheer strength of asset markets in recent years is that almost…

Why make it so hard? Occasionally, maybe even frequently, we come across investment strategies that are unexplored or even unknown. Naturally, the first port of call is a search engine to see what we can learn. Regrettably the outcome is rarely enlightening. Most have a promo picture and vapid words, a list of the team…

After an impressive rise in 2020, tech stocks have been hit by selling pressure so far this year. One tech sector that has defied the recent trend is robotics and automation. The ETFS ROBO Global Robotics and Automation ETF (ROBO) is up more than 4.9 per cent in the first five months of the year,…

Zenith CEO David Wright has warned that advisers are turning away from alternative assets at a time when they may become more important than ever. Speaking to media on Thursday, Wright voiced concerns that advisers were abandoning alternative assets despite the possibility of “stronger than forecast inflation” and heightened market volatility. “There does appear to…

Passive management is often considered an economical way to get market exposure, with good risk diversification and few surprises beyond what the market delivers. However, indexing also means any return is limited to benchmark performance. What if there was a compromise? Read article.