Opinion

“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…

“Better lucky than good” explained Max Swango, managing director of Invesco’s Global Real Estate Team when referring to the tailwind that has seen institutional-grade property become one of the most popular asset classes in the world. He wasn’t referring to bond yields, as many thought, but rather the massive shift in investment priorities and allocations…

‘A thief in the night’ was the title of Stephen Hayes’ session at last weeks’ Equities and Growth Assets Symposium hosted by The Inside Network. Tasked with confronting the most significant and pressing issue facing investors and asset allocators around the world, Hayes managed to summarise it quite simple ‘pricing power’ is what really matters….

“If there’s one thing, I can tell everyone… is that gold is fire insurance, even better, gold is portfolio insurance,” said Ganesh Balendran speaking at The Inside Network’s Equities Symposium. Delivered in a unique technology-driven Pecha Kucha format. Balendran challenged delegates to consider the expanding use cases of ETFs amid a surge in volatility and…

Reading media headlines today, advisors and investors may have missed one of the more powerful releases, for the long-term at least. It related to another management fee reduction by a leading active global equity manager. The Fidante-backed Alphinity announced that it would lower the fees on two of its global equity funds from May. These…

Markets are poised for more damage after a remarkable bull run, and Orbis Australia believes now is the time when contrarianism will prove its worth. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,” famously wrote Charles Dickens in “A…

Leading responsible and sustainable investment manager Australian Ethical (ASX:AEF) this week announced their intention to merge with industry fund Christian Super. If completed, the combined entity would manage some $9 billion and serve around 100,000 members across the country. Christian Super, and similar religious-leaning super funds were some of the earliest adopters of the ESG…

“(The biggest benefit) of late stage venture capital is the uncorrelated nature of the asset class,” said Kevin Moss, president and portfolio manager at late stage venture capital manager Liberty Street Advisors (LSA). “Everybody’s looking for the capital gains of course, but this really differentiates the asset class… And history will tell you that periods…

There has been a saying in markets for the last few years that fixed-income investments, favoured for their guaranteed returns and correlation benefits, have actually become “fixed-loss.” The driving factor was the threat (and now, realisation) that bond yields and cash rates were set to turn higher, reversing a four-decade tailwind. Naturally, these types of…

The “widow-maker” in the Australian investment context has long referred to those willing or stupid enough to take a short position on the “big four” banks. Being such a huge part of the benchmark and with clear government support, betting against the sector has carried too much career risk for many. But in 2021 and…