Opinion

The US central bank announced a quarter percentage point increase in its benchmark rate overnight, which was widely expected. For the first time in three years has it increased rates and it expected to keep this going until they reach between 1.75 percent and  2 percent by the years end. Sonal Desai, CIO of Global…

Inflation is set to rise on the back of higher oil and commodity prices, driven by supply concerns due to the conflict in Ukraine and the recent floods. This has caused pundits to shift their stance to become overly aggressive on rate expectations. However, portfolio manager Anthony Kirkham of Western Asset, a global active fixed-income…

As expectations for public market returns sour, much attention is being focused on the yield to be found in private equity. It’s still fairly inaccessible for the average investor. But investing in listed private equity – the managers themselves – can provide private equity returns with public market liquidity. To Barwon Investment Partners, private equity…

Managed futures and trend following strategies became highly popular following the Global Financial Crisis, with skilled manager able to harness the extreme levels of volatility to deliver strong returns. The idea is simple, buy assets that are going up, short assets that are going down. But the decade since has been an incredibly difficult period…

There goes International Women’s Day. In financial markets, many have highlighted notable woman who have made their way to a distinctive and influential status. This is undeniably helpful, though also is an indication one can only find a few women, while everyday the commentary is predominantly from men. One day is not a good benchmark,…

The oldest asset class in the world, direct property, is experiencing something of a renaissance amid a surge in inflation and the pursuit of lower-risk income streams. This was part of the discussion at The Inside Network’s Alternatives Symposium, held in Melbourne. Chris Cornforth from Harvest Hotels took a room of Australia’s leading financial advisers…

With volatility and inflation on the rise, things aren’t looking too good for the near future; that’s the broad view of the Global Macro team at JP Morgan. Speaking at the Inside Network’s Alternatives Symposium, held on February 23, Josh Berelowitz, portfolio manager in the macro strategies team, confirmed our worst fears, saying “traditional beta…

Multi-trillion-dollar global asset manager Amundi this week released a timely commentary to assist investors to navigate the challenging market environment. In this type of uncertainty, it pays to gain exposure to as many different views as possible, with the France-based Amundi offering a unique, on-the-ground, European insight. “The worst-case scenario of a Russian attack on…

Reimagining portfolios for tomorrow’s reality Increasing inflation volatility represents the greatest challenge to investors for a generation. A new regime and the collapse of the financial market status quo requires us to reimagine portfolios. No longer can we rely on yesterday’s logic. “Inflation is the endgame. Just brace for inflation volatility first.” Do we still…

Just a few short months ago, we were asking the question “are equities too expensive?” The threat of rate hikes then switched the rhetoric to “why aren’t bond yields higher?” But now investors face an even more challenging question, according to Kerry Craig, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management: “what do I do…

Gerry Fowler, investment director of multi-asset strategies at abrdn, says everyone will have experienced inflation in some shape or form by now; be it energy bills, food, groceries or the price of cars, inflation is here to stay. “Inflation was considered initially just a purely Covid-related phenomenon. The transport-of-goods inflation went through the roof and…

Returns for the classic 60/40 portfolio are expected to be “uninspiring” for the 2020s, according to Schroders, and investors are rushing towards private markets to recapture some approximation of the returns they’ve enjoyed over the last decade. According to data from Schroders, private equity has on average produced a 2.4 per cent net return above…