Alignment of interests and the value of human capital
One of the boxes ticked when selecting a fund manager is whether the investment team has its own money in the strategy, or even better, has ownership in the...
The wide, wide world of ETFs shows no signs of slowing
The ETF world has multiplied well beyond expectations. Index-linked ETFs are now a standard-bearer for investment portfolios driven by sticky active fund fees...
More questions than answers despite the macro consensus
Conversations on investment matters are wide-ranging. Many enjoy the ethereal world of big picture debates. Identifying these in the long run has been...
Searching for nirvana
One of the (many) headaches of the current financial market setup is the lack of return on cash or term deposits that can hold onto the real value of money....
Advisers should 'call out' misalignment in investment markets
Advisers all have financial benefit from promoting investments through an advice fee, or percentage of FUM. This is not a value judgement, simply a statement...
Is gold only for the true believers?
Gold’s crown is a little tainted by its recent price retracement, which has taken the yellow metal roughly back to where it was a year ago. Instead,...
Financial advisers in need of better data
Not that long ago a fund manager could provide a mesmerising presentation slide on how it uses “big data.” Examples might be using Google Earth to...
Where should investors turn in the era of bubbles?
While nearly all the fussing on equity valuation and bubbles is centred on the US, Europe, Japan and the emerging markets (EMs) have provided decent returns...
Will 2021 be the year for infrastructure?
Let’s get real The financial chatter box is overflowing on bond movements and the potential impact on valuation of risk assets. Inevitably the...
The price is right for commodities
High iron ore prices are unlikely to have escaped the attention of Australian investors given the inevitable BHP or RIO holdings. Commodities, in general, have...
What's old is new again
The persistent era of disruptive services has its counterpart in companies considered ripe for extinction. History, however, suggests one should not be quite...
The stage is set for an evolution in trading
The attack on short sold stocks in the past week has caused a frenzy of comments on the participation of so-called retail investors. Where this will end up is...
Bubbles everywhere and 'risk has vanished' says Klarman
In an imaginary world, being a hedge fund investor called Seth Klarman with a fund called Baupost would be fun, based purely on unusual names, but also on the...
Private debt - the new growth sector
It is no longer hype to talk up the growth in private lending. While some metrics on its size are questionable, typically including nearly everything that is...
Attending to your shorts
For entertainment value, and sometimes returns, little can match an activist short seller. Infamous Muddy Waters is the best example. It claims 19% per annum...
Can equities still be rewarding in 2021?
In the final weeks of the year, there appear the inevitable reports on what eventuated in 2020, coupled with the near-universal view that 2021 is lining up as...