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17 October 2026

Home / Author: RQI Investors

RQI Investors

Emerging market concentration Déjà Vu

Emerging markets have been here before - but today's concentration is being driven by a different set of dynamics. A small group of companies has risen rapidly to the top of the market, bringing renewed attention to what is driving these market dynamics.

Lessons from the Quant Winter

The quant winter was a two‑year period from 2018-20 when quant funds underperformed. This was largely a Developed Markets effect, with Australia also affected. In the last few years we've seen strong quant factor performance which raises the question of whether a quant winter could recur.

Corporate culture: Do companies that talk the talk also walk the walk?

Getting corporate culture right can be a powerful tool for any company and an important dimension for firm value. While intrinsically important for companies, it is notoriously difficult to measure.

Extreme concentration and its implications for equity investors – Addendum

This paper extends RQI's recent research on extreme concentration, turning to the Australian and Emerging Markets (EM) experiences. It aims to provide evidence that Australia and EMs do not show the same recent upward trend in concentration as the US.

Extreme concentration and its implications for equity investors

Concentration in equity markets has reached unprecedented levels, particularly in the US. A select few mega-cap stocks now dominate market indices, reflecting a convergence of technological innovation, speculative enthusiasm, and the allure of generative AI.

A deep dive into profitability

This report examines the characteristics and trend of a well-known measure of quality - Profitability. It discusses the reasons why it is a useful measure and why it might be persistent through time.

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Retirement

The retirement scorecard: how many of these questions can you answer?

From the maths of retirement, estimating spending and picking the right asset allocation to survive a poor decade, here are the questions every retiree – current or future – should be able to answer for themselves.

2026 is not 1999

The US market looks eerily similar to the dot-com era with soaring AI spending and tech giants dominating returns. But one difference separates today’s boom from the dot-com bubble and it could determine what happens next.

Planning

Taxing time for trusts

Trusts are facing a shake-up, but an overhaul may not be necessary. Families can explore restructuring strategies that preserve succession and the asset protection benefits that have made these structures valuable.

Economy

Why the US economy is stronger than you might think

War, inflation and higher rates were expected to derail America. But has the market got it wrong? Three forces are driving the economy beyond expectations, revealing implications for stock prices and portfolio positioning.

Gold

How much trust is in your portfolio?

Everyone talks about diversifying assets. Far fewer think about diversifying trust. As inflation, debt and market assumptions collide, the question is whether portfolios need greater protection from unexpected outcomes.

Retirement

Retirement in reality - 7 months in

Seven months into retirement, I'm still uncovering surprises. This month was spent reflecting on the slow pace of health change, the myth of neatly scheduled part-time work and the unexpected persistence of retirement guilt.

The new geography of technology leadership

The next chapter of technology may not belong to the companies or business models many expect. As the landscape shifts, some opportunities are emerging in places that remain surprisingly overlooked by global markets.

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