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4 August 2025
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As long as the banks have no desire to pay up for term deposit funding - which looks likely for a while yet - investors will continue to pay a premium for the higher yielding, but riskier hybrid instrument.
Major changes are underway in the methods used to distribute bank hybrids. Investor cannot rely on the previous ways of buying hybrids at IPO and now must be 'sophisticated', react quickly and know a broker.
During the GFC, bank hybrids fell heavily as bank equity sold off, but in the last dozen years, hybrids rules have changed and the market seems to accept hybrids are more resilient. What does the price data show?
What is APRA worried about? Most mortgagees can easily absorb increases in interest rates without posing a systemic threat to the banking system. Housing lending is a relatively risk-free activity for banks.
The GFC provided asset managers with a source of behavioural data they could only dream of. However, no amount of modelling can capture the full panic that some investors experience.
Hybrids are riskier than term deposits but investors are rewarded for the risk. Here is a simple way to consider if the reward is sufficient as the hybrid approaches an expected call date.
With term deposit rates falling, bonds holding up but with risks attached, and stocks yielding comparatively paltry sums, finding decent income is becoming harder. Here’s a guide to the best places to hunt for yield.
A tearful Treasury chief, a backbench rebellion, and crashing bonds. What just happened in the UK and why could Australia’s NDIS be headed for the same brutal fiscal reality?
Many investors are hesitant to buy into a market that feels like it’s already climbed too far, too fast. But what does nearly a century of market history suggest about investing at peaks?
China's steel production, equivalent to building one Sydney Harbour Bridge every 10 minutes, has driven Australia's economic growth. With China's slowdown, what does this mean for Australia's economy and investments?
Stablecoins have been hyped as a gamechanger for the payments industry. But while they could find success in certain niches, a broader upheaval of Visa and Mastercard's payments dominance looks unlikely.
Investors view infrastructure as a defensive asset class rather than one with compelling growth prospects. These five tailwinds for demand over the coming decades suggest that such a stance could be mistaken.
We are trading through one of history's most confounding market environments. One day, financial headlines warn of doomsday scenarios. The next, they celebrate a new golden age. How can investors keep a clear head?