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8 August 2025
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Resilience begins with being aware of where you have come from compared to where you are now and adjusting portfolios accordingly. This means moderating return expectations and eschewing more risk to make up for the reduced market beta.
Soaring policy rates have made cash a competitive asset again, prompting an overdue de-rating of risk assets. But just because yields are higher, that doesn’t mean risk is lower.
Two words come to mind when describing fixed income markets at present: volatility and uncertainty. The macro factors influencing the current environment include COVID's legacy, war in Ukraine, high inflation, tightening monetary policy and a strong dollar.
With equity valuations at all-time highs, fixed income yields at or near historic lows and volatility top of mind for investors, the emerging market debt (EMD) asset class may warrant a closer look for Australian investors.
The markets are awash in crosscurrents, so it’s critical to focus on what’s material and filter out market noise. When things get complicated, it's helpful to try to simplify them.
Shifts in market structure post-GFC have led to lasting changes in the behavior of credit spreads, with significant implications for active investors.
This goes through the different options including shares, property and business ownership and declares a winner, as well as outlining the mindset needed to earn enough to never have to work again.
After a stellar 2025 to date for equities, warning signs - from speculative froth to stretched valuations - suggest the market’s calm may be masking deeper fragilities. Strategic rebalancing feels increasingly timely.
Everyone has a theory as to why housing in Australia is so expensive. There are a lot of different factors at play, from skewed migration patterns to banking trends and housing's status as a national obsession.
Each generation believes its economic challenges were uniquely tough - but what does the data say? A closer look reveals a more nuanced, complex story behind the generational hardship debate.
Blackberry clung on to the superiority of keyboards at the beginning of the touchscreen era and paid the ultimate price. Could the rise of agentic AI and a new generation of hardware do something similar to Apple?
The bond market is quietly regaining strength. As rate cuts loom and economic growth moderates, high-quality credit and global fixed income present renewed opportunities for investors seeking income and stability.
Companies trading at over 10x revenue now account for over 20% of the MSCI World index, levels not seen since the dotcom bubble. Can these shares create lasting value, or are they destined to unravel?