Opinion

The Reserve Bank of Australia officially joined the hiking party this month, and while the implications for Australian homeowners and businesses is important, it has little impact on the global economy.

“Patience is a virtue” may well be the best way to explain the performance of the Australian sharemarket in the March quarter.

The financial services market has been more active than ever in 2022, with the shortage of workers and significant growth leading to a flurry of activity in role and job changes.

The VIX Volatility Index or Fear Index hit a 52-week high of 38.94 last week after $65bn was wiped off the Australian share market.

Amid ongoing elevated volatility, some financial advisers are recommending that investors hold alternative investments, including market neutral funds, which could help cushion portfolios against a broad market sell-off.

Government policy continues to lag private markets when it comes to the energy transition, with Federation Asset Management’s latest deal to buy two battery assets a sign of the things to come.

This week’s Australian inflation shock of 5.1 per cent (annual rate) has all but confirmed what we’ve been fearing; the cost of living has gone up and that means the RBA will be backed into a corner and forced to raise the cash rate.

“We all think we know China, but you won’t think of China the same way after this presentation” explained James Dunn, host of The Inside Network’s Equities and Growth Assets Symposium held in April. He was introducing Lewis Prescott, international CEO of Mingshi Investment Management, a multi-billion-dollar quantitative equity manager that recently launched in Australia….

Several economists are now expecting the central bank will raise interest rates next week given a jump in inflation to a 21-year high of 5.1%, which would be the first rise in interest rates during an election campaign since November 2007, and coming ahead of several forecast rate rises in the second half of 2022. …

“If you ask 100 engineers how much steel and concrete are required to build a bridge, and 99 engineers say x amount of steel and y amount of concrete, and one engineer – just one – says half of x and half of y, I think there’s probably more chance of falling pregnant via wind…

The passive vs. active debate remains alive and well, particularly in the larger company universe, where being different to the index is quite a challenge, and in many cases, a career risk. The consistent standout among the quarterly passive vs. active reports, however, has been the Australian smaller company sector. Globally recognised as companies valued…

Global smaller companies, defined broadly as those valued anywhere between $300 million and $5 billion, are offering one of the most compelling valuation opportunities in 20 years, says Simon Wood of Ausbil Investment Management. Speaking at The Inside Network’s leading Equities and Growth Assets forum this month, Wood highlighted the unique opportunity set and its…