Opinion

“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…

Global investment consultant and support network to the pension fund industry, bfinance, this week released its latest Market Intelligence and Market Trends report, covering the final quarter of 2021. While the world has changed dramatically since the calendar turned over, there are some powerful insights for financial advisers and other asset allocators. According to its…

Floods, fires, landslides, earthquakes. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, the impacts of climate change are becoming more pronounced, with many still struggling to understand the implications they have for various asset classes. Long the stalwart of institutional portfolios, commercial properties are among the oldest asset classes in the world, having been…

While watching one of the most popular TV series in recent years, Billions, which follows the story of hedge fund billionaires, you wouldn’t necessarily expect to gain business ideas or insights. Perhaps investment ideas given that the characters in the series are known for pushing the limits to generate the maximum return possible, but definitely…