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19 September 2025
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Fixed income remains well positioned in the face of a challenging market environment, but global diversification is as critical as it has ever been.
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.
The world is pushing for social change, with calls to alleviate social injustice and racial inequality growing louder around the globe. Businesses have as much responsibility for diversity and inclusion as individuals.
COVID-19 is leading to unprecedented economic destruction across the world. While the human and financial cost will be enormous, dislocation also presents opportunities. Investors will need patience and a long-term horizon to benefit.
A case study on shifting the performance evaluation mindset. This paper reflects the work done with MFS' mutual funds board and the process it took to push the business forward and think differently.
Developing and overseeing a retirement-spending strategy can be a complex undertaking. As both life expectancies and the number of retirees who will need to rely on their superannuation portfolios increase, so too will the challenges facing retirees.
Hope is not an investment thesis.Investor pain in the final quarter of 2018 has seemingly faded from memory, based on the rerisking across global equity and credit markets in the first two months of 2019.
While the short term remains difficult to forecast, fundamentals drive cash flows and cash flows drive asset prices, and these fundamentals are units, price, margin and earnings.
Technology has improved our standard of living, but the rapid pace of development has created ethical dilemmas for companies, impacted many users and overwhelmed regulatory bodies.
For the first time in human history there are more people (55%) living in urban areas than in rural areas, placing tremendous stress on resources, infrastructure and the human psyche.
A misalignment between investors and their asset managers could be causing them to forfeit the full value of active management.
Australia could unlock smarter investment and greater equity by reforming housing tax concessions. Rethinking exemptions on the family home could benefit most Australians, especially renters and owners of modest homes.
The creator of the 4% rule for retirement withdrawals, Bill Bengen, has written a new book outlining fresh strategies to outlive your money, including holding fewer stocks in early retirement before increasing allocations.
This AI cycle feels less like a revolution and more like a rerun. Just like fibre in 2000, shale in 2014, and cannabis in 2019, the technology or product is real but the capital cycle will be brutal. Investors beware.
An explosion in low-skilled migration to Australia has depressed wages, killed productivity, and cut rental vacancy rates to near decades-lows. It’s time both sides of politics addressed the issue.
Are franking credits factored into share prices? The data suggests they're probably not, and there are certain types of stocks that offer higher franking credits as well as the prospect for higher returns.
LICs are continuing to struggle with large discounts and frustrated investors are wondering whether it’s worth holding onto them. This explains why the next 6-12 months will be make or break for many LICs.