global market

ASX200 follows global markets higher, economic data flows, inflation of little concern, Metcash (ASX:MTS) continues to deliver The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) finished another 0.8% higher on Tuesday, with every sector but energy and materials delivering positive results for the day. CSL (ASX:CSL) continues to catch up on the market after a slow start to 2021, adding 2.3%. The company…

Asset consultancy Atchison Consultants expects 2021 to be a “recovery year” on global markets, based on the prospects for the COVID-19 vaccines that are being rolled-out, but says these prospects are themselves the major risk, given the amount of investor optimism that has been baked-into valuations on the back of the vaccine announcements. While the…

In a year when a global pandemic, recession and record-low interest rates took centre stage, a growing number of specialist managers, including many high-profile names, failed to beat the market last financial year. Yet with market dispersion continuing to grow, active management has never been more valuable. The first quarter of 2020 saw an unprecedented…

Trillion-dollar French asset manager Amundi released their November Cross Asset Strategy report last week, with gold bullion and active management among their highest conviction calls. The group is renowned for their institutional investment capacity but particular their ESG or Sustainability credentials. With Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) vaccine news coming shortly after the release, CIO Pascal Blanque…

This is an edited version of the full article, which is available here. The article pre-dated the US Election.   Executive summary Societies and governments around the world are looking at a COVID-19 vaccine as the panacea that will enable the world to recover, reconnect and regain our way of life. Since the genetic code…

Executive summary Societies and governments around the world are looking at a COVID-19 vaccine as the panacea that will enable the world to recover, reconnect and regain our way of life. Since the genetic code for COVID-19 was unlocked, researchers have set out in an unprecedented and coordinated effort to make a vaccine available on…

Optimism abound, ASX up 4.4% for the week, Macquarie (ASX:MQG) profit falls 32% The week finished where it began, the ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) adding 0.8% taking the gain to 4.4% with every sector finishing the week higher.  The key driver was real estate (+8.3%) and consumer discretionary (+6.8%) businesses the key drivers as a combination of loosening border restrictions…

The mention of emerging markets (EM) opens up a messy vista of many complex and troublesome issues, not least in China, representing the beating heart of EM. Add in a lack of central bank independence, volatile currencies, unpredictable governments and it is little wonder that EM struggles with a risk/return balance. Through to the end…

Despite being Australia’s most important trading partner and closest neighbour, Asia remains largely undiscovered and under-appreciated by Australian investors. The region now represents 60 per cent of the global population, has 50 per cent of all consumers and contributes 70 per cent to GDP growth. The immediate Asian growth trend is expected to accelerate as…

One of the great investment success stories of the last 25 years has been the exchange-traded fund (ETF), which got under way in the early 1990s as a vehicle offering access in one listed stock, to the entire stock market through tracking an index. Gone were the worries of paying “active” management fees and failing…