Asset management

This year’s Sohn Hearts & Minds Conference, an annual one-day event that brings the finance and investment community together, saw a select group of fund managers share their best stock ideas for the year ahead. The recurring theme without a doubt was COVID-19. But grief and tragedy aside, COVID-19 has forced us to go digital….

In a recent podcast, Aidan Farrell, Director of Global Small Cap Equities at Eaton Vance discusses investment opportunities presented by the global small-cap sector for Australian investors. He highlights: The MSCI World Small Cap Index captures small cap representation across 23 Developed Markets countries. With 4,203 constituents, the index covers approximately 14% of the free…

Financial services software house, Calastone, recently released their Global Investor Behaviours and Attitudes White Paper. It is the culmination of a survey of 1,800 people across six nations including the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Germany, with a particular focus on ‘taking the temperature’ or retail investors. One point that seems to…

While the big tech stocks have driven global as well as US share market growth for several years, questions are emerging about how long this will last; and where do investors go when the world is also awash with “low-to-no” interest rates? In a series of four webinars for fund managers with which it partners,…

With advisers and investors faced with what appears to be zero-bound interest rates for at least the next three years, the already fast-growing alternative fixed interest (or ‘credit’) sector is sure to see more demand in the months ahead. The sub-asset-class has become increasingly attractive due to its higher, non-discretionary income payments and suitability for…

There have been plenty of reasons to visit a bookie recently, given the Melbourne Cup Carnival and the US election.  Financial commentators provide a rather dull set of probabilities on what the result on the latter could be and a predictable list of winners and losers. One trend that looks set to continue is the…

Gold has an almost mythical quality to it but assessing its true investment value doesn’t need to be shrouded in mystery. Some investors may still shy away from an asset viewed as difficult to accurately price or predict, but perhaps they are focused on the wrong metrics. Understanding the true value of gold is more…

Chris Cuffe first let the industry know, in 2015, what his 10 biggest lessons from years at the top in funds management were. He revisited and updated the list in September 2019 and has now done so once again. But the original list is probably timeless. He also added a few extra tips last week,…

The Financial Services Council (FSC) is to now prepare a policy discussion (a ‘green paper’) for the industry and government, to be delivered in 2021, following the release of a major report by Rice Warner proposing sweeping changes to Australia’s financial advice system. The Rice Warner report was commissioned by the FSC and discussed at…

Return of the A$ Corporate Hybrid Market Many of us who are old enough will remember the once-thriving ASX-listed corporate hybrid market as a constant feature of the pre-GFC Australian credit landscape, with the innovatively named Multiplex SITES, Fairfax PRESSES and Dexus RENTS securities (among others) offering returns and features to meet the risk appetites…

Generalising is a dark art. The moment one observes an apparent pattern, idiosyncratic data jumps out. Judging small-cap managers falls into this trap. Firstly, to the organisation. Those that are entirely dedicated to this sector can do well, yet are interspersed are some big shops with banal marketing that challenge this assumption. Boutique is not…

Despite being Australia’s most important trading partner and closest neighbour, Asia remains largely undiscovered and under-appreciated by Australian investors. The region now represents 60 per cent of the global population, has 50 per cent of all consumers and contributes 70 per cent to GDP growth. The immediate Asian growth trend is expected to accelerate as…