Value proposition

“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…

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…

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…

The Federal Budget unveiled this week was clearly intended to be an election-winning budget prepared to win over the public with many of its generous promises. Budget time doesn’t usually move markets, but with inflation on the rise, the market is on edge. In the 2022-23 budget, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg delivered a long list of…

While global sharemarkets have recovered much of the ground lost due to the Ukraine crisis, US Federal Reserve moves and surging energy costs, there is a general feeling that equities remain on the precipice of a bear market, or at the very least, an extended correction. Whether it is our inherent pessimism towards markets, or…

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…

While all eyes remain focused squarely on whether inflation is “transitory” or not, “persistent” is the adjective that value manager Allan Gray uses to describe the position of the equity market. Speaking in its monthly update, the firm’s Australian managing director and chief investment officer Simon Mawhinney flagged the “exuberance for some stocks and disdain…

Outside equity, fixed income and well-known alternatives there is another world of investment options that rarely find their way into portfolios. Examples include agricultural land and businesses, energy and carbon trading, water rights, fishing licences or music royalties. It is unsurprising that few consider these options, as they are far from simple to judge and…

One of the most important roles of a financial adviser is to assist investors in navigating their own ‘behavioural biases.’ The world of behavioural finance was little known until a few years ago, before being made famous by The Undoing Project, Michael Lewis’ biography of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, two of the founding fathers…

Just what is China doing by limiting all kinds of activity and corporations? Many see this an authoritarian regime imposing restraint on its citizens. Yet this is not exactly unusual. Every domain imposes rules. Our local media content, our banks have been given the book on what they can and can’t do, our energy market…