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Warren Bird

What’s that UBS bond benchmark in the annual statements?

There's an interesting history of state and federal government finances and innovative merchant bankers behind the UBS bond index often found in annual statements from fund managers.

Beyond the hype, a beginner’s guide to QE

We read about Quantitative Easing and tapering every day, but what are they and do they work? Should we worry about them? One thing is for sure - both subjects will be with us for many years to come.

An insider's view of the last financial crisis

It's easy to forget how severe the GFC was in destroying confidence and locking up markets. There was a genuine fear that the world was such a toxic place that no credit could be trusted.

Managing credit risk requires healthy dose of cynicism

In the world of credit risk, you need to understand the capacity of the borrower to pay what they’ve promised, then assume that they will let you down anyway and avoid concentrating your portfolio.

Give this risk the credit it deserves

The risk that bond investors should be most concerned about is credit risk. Market risk does not produce a permanent loss of capital, and higher yields result in increasing returns over time.

A fixed interest guy’s take on share market volatility

Simple maths helps explain why the share market is so volatile. It’s not that it’s an irrational, casino-like beast that bucks and dives for no good reason. It’s a long duration market reacting to changes.

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Investment strategies

The thin line between investing and gambling

Prediction markets are blurring the line between investing and speculation and savvy investors can profit from this trend by heeding the advice of famed investor, Benjamin Graham.

Strategy

The refinery problem: A different kind of energy crisis in 2026

The Strait of Hormuz closure due to US-Iran conflict severely disrupted global energy supply chains. While various emergency measures mitigated the crude impact, the refined product market faces unprecedented stress.

Gold

Are we running out of gold?

Geopolitical instability and challenges with new gold discoveries mean we may be approaching a structural shortage of mineable gold, but what does this mean for gold's overall long-term availability?

Investment strategies

ETF investors adding to portfolios during recent volatility

In the face of recent market volatility investors continue to add to their ETF portfolios with these ETFs getting notable inflows, indicating that long-term fundamentals remain solid.

Strategy

Policy setting in democracies

Democracies aren’t a given, and policymakers need to be mindful not to alienate communities and instead be more aligned with mainstream ideas and attitudes. 

Investment strategies

Take my money and lie to me… again

As private funds increasingly show signs of cracking and buckling under a complete lack of liquidity, the salespeople do their best to keep the cash pouring in from new investors. 

Economy

Australia was once a world leader in innovation, now the system is ‘broken’

Ambitious Australia joins a long line of reports examining research and development, finding Australia has fallen behind its peers on many fronts. It urges bold reform to address declining productivity and research spending.

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