Louis Christopher

Rate hikes are causing anxiety for Australian mortgage holders, with new research showing seven out of 10 worry about missing repayments. As large numbers of fixed-rate mortgages expire, analysts say distressed property selling is likely to pick up from its thus-far benign levels.

The domestic economy is reaching a tipping point, says SQM Research’s Louis Christopher, with the property market only a step behind. Valuation increases across the country are set to be wound back as unemployment and falls from the fixed rate cliff lead to forced sales.

Multi-strategy separately managed accounts (SMAs) are “taking off like you wouldn’t believe”, according to SQM Research CEO Louis Christopher, but the rapid increase in their use could also be creating a regulatory blind spot.

The company has expanded its managed fund and property research offering to include an ASX top 200 listed companies ratings service for the Australian financial advice community.

Sydney-based advice and technology group Sequoia Financial Group has forged a strategic partnership with ratings agency SQM Research in a high-profile vote of confidence for the provider.

As interest rates creep north, advisers extoll the virtue of investing away from the family home and into a diversified suite of assets.