Asset management

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…

It seems as if Japan does not get a lot of respect from external investors, for good reasons. The Nikkei index appears to disprove the theory that the sharemarket delivers superior long-term investment returns, being at the same level now that it was back in 1991. Almost 31 years on from its record high, the…

In the middle of 2015, Morgan Stanley Research in Australia published a report which predicted that managed accounts would prove to be a major disruptor of traditional investing via managed funds/unit trusts. The report, ‘Evolution or Revolution?’, seemed overly bullish on the new way for individual investors and their advisers to access professional investment management….

Investing to improve lives  is the mantra of Martin Currie, one of the world leaders in ESG investing. This annual report reviews the year that was highlighting seismic  moves in society amidst the pandemic and flagging its extensive engagement on governance, meeting 178 companies.

The COVID-19 recovery is looking more U than V-shaped as hoped, according to Western Asset Management. That said, lockdowns will act only as a disruption to a strong US recovery, with the group favouring consumer names across Europe and the US.

Currencies are the closest cousin to this age cohort in investment markets.