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The first quarter of 2021 saw renewed confidence in global equity markets supported by positive developments in the fight against coronavirus together with better-than-expected economic data. Fiscal stimulus and vaccine rollout have far exceeded expectations causing equity markets to overcome bouts of volatility. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices hit new all-time highs. The…

In a nutshell, value investing is buying ‘quality’ companies at share prices well below intrinsic value. Quality is defined using four characteristics: A high-quality business that sells high-quality products, usually market leaders. Low debt – tend to handle downturns better. Sound management. Recurring earnings – start-ups are not preferred. Warren Buffett’s famous saying “Finding an…

Recently crowned with the Fixed Interest Manager of the Year award by Morningstar, its third such win in four years, Western Asset Management is on the front food when it comes to global government bond markets. The conditions, despite heightened volatility, offer a rare opportunity for active management. According to Anthony Francis, investment dealer at…

Australian Ethical, which is already the equal-largest manager of specialist ESG-related funds in Australia, alongside Vanguard, is now aiming to be among the largest of all managers with Australian businesses operating in the wholesale and retail space. And it is hoping technology will help. The manager (ASX: AEF) has partnered with a specialist start-up Alta…

Managed funds research and ratings start-up Foresight Analytics is expanding further in the ultra-competitive retail and advised investment sector through the acquisition of the analytics business of Australia Ratings Group. This follows a tie-up announced earlier this month with Style Analytics Group, a factor analysis firm with offices in Boston and London, which provides research…

As is almost always the case, money talks. When a star portfolio manager suddenly resigns after recording spectacular gains, there is a good chance they have been poached within the funds management industry by a competitor waving more money. Sometimes entire teams leave altogether, or a high-profile portfolio manager may walk out, for one reason…

The annual Awards held by Morningstar saw the winners of 2021 announced across various categories, something we covered here. Taking the majority of the awards was the team at Hyperion, which was also rated the overall Fund Manager for the year. Taking the Global Equities Fund Manager of the Year award, however, was Scott Berg…

Mark Arnold and Jason Orthman stood at the podium to collect three awards at last Friday (Feb 26) afternoon’s annual Morningstar funds awards, including the main prize, that of Fund Manager of the Year. But they didn’t quite scoop the pool. They were on stage four times but had to make way for T. Rowe…

Summary: There has been a rapid and large-scale shift across many industries towards working remotely. Organisations are investing in remote working technology and infrastructure. The popularity of virtual communication platforms has surged. COVID-19 took the world by storm, bringing economies to their knees, schools deserted, shopping centres empty, entire sectors were closed as people were…

According to Martin Currie chief investment officer Reece Birtles, the timing “could not be better for ‘value’ stocks.” This is a theme reiterated by the likes of Andrew Clifford of Platinum Asset Management this week, who described markets as being gripped with “speculative mania in high-growth stocks” in a world that has “gone crazy.” Birtles’…