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Craig Stanford

Do bonds still offer a buffer to equity volatility?

Most Australians place their superannuation into a balanced fund, making the relationship between bonds and equities a vital part of performance. Does the traditional correlation between shares and bonds still hold? 

Why bother with hedge funds?

Despite negative headlines regularly aimed at hedge funds, they experienced strong inflows in the six years until the end of 2015. What are the benefits of hedge funds for a portfolio?

Why Australian investors use offshore funds

There are legitimate reasons to use an offshore financial centre, which should not be confused with a tax haven where data is withheld from tax or regulatory authorities in other countries.

Just how risky are hedge funds?

The commonly held belief that ‘hedge funds’ are riskier than ‘equities’ isn't necessarily true, depending on what type of risks you want to avoid. A few failures give the overall sector an undeserved reputation.

The long and short of hedge funds, Part 2

Part 2 focusses on the criticisms that are often levelled at hedge funds and how to manage these disadvantages to your level of tolerance. The challenge for the hedge fund industry is to deliver more retail-targetted products.

The long and short of hedge funds, Part 1

Investing in hedge funds is one of the more polarising topics in the investment world, with strongly-held views at each end of the spectrum. Part 1 of this two-part series looks at the advantages of these 'alternatives'.

Latest Updates

Investment strategies

High quality businesses are on sale

Beneath the dominance of the ASX's largest stocks, much of the market has been left behind. High-quality companies are now trading at levels rarely seen, offering opportunities for investors willing to look deeper.

Investment strategies

The whirlwind is upon us

Something unusual is happening in markets. The winners are pulling further ahead at an extraordinary pace. As return dispersion hits extreme levels, volatility is rising and the investing landscape is becoming harder to navigate.

Strategy

Inequality destabilises economies

Extreme wealth concentration is no longer just a side effect of growth. As inequality deepens, its consequences are shifting from a social concern to a broader threat to economic stability and democratic resilience.

Investment strategies

Have AI’s four horsemen arrived?

AI exuberance is colliding with economic reality. Cracks are emerging as spending surges, ROI remains uncertain and enterprise behaviour shifts. The next phase may look less like an expansion and more like a reckoning.

Taxation

Budget tax changes only scratch the surface. Here are 4 reforms Australia needs next

The 2026 budget has reignited Australia’s tax reform debate, but more work remains. Beneath the surface lies a harder question: what structural reforms are needed to make the country's tax system fit for the future?

Taxation

Negative gearing: quarantined, not killed

The Budget's negative gearing changes defer deductions rather than deny them, yet a worked example shows quarantining can halve the tax benefit's present value for buyers of established dwellings.

Investment strategies

Family offices have quietly taken over Australian private capital

In just four years, Australia's private capital landscape has transformed. We are seeing changes across who deploys capital, how deals are structured and why new platforms and investor pathways are rapidly emerging.

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