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25 April 2024
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Every fund is measured against a benchmark, but active managers earn their fees by taking strong views contrary to an index. It requires fortitude in the short term as interviews with Orbis and Allan Gray show.
In 2023, the focus will shift to the economic cycle. While equities and some of the riskier fixed income markets have challenges, a solid risk-free rate added to a 3-4% equity risk premium is a good through-cycle return.
Five years ago, the move towards passive investment in the US was obvious, and warranted. But there are compelling reasons to think that the next decade will be a more productive environment for active strategies.
The active versus passive debate rests on the lazy assumption that it's not possible to consistently choose managers that outperform. Both the premise and (hence) the narrative are flawed.
It is a tough time to be investing in growth stocks but there may be ways investors can take advantage of lower prices and be well positioned when the market and interest rates return to normality.
Active rebalancing is vital to prevent a portfolio drifting strongly away from its desired asset allocation. See how 60/40 can become 80/20, and is that the correct portfolio in the face of volatility and risk?
The story of Mr Market originated with Ben Graham and was further popularised by Warren Buffett, but does it still hold true? Based on experience, the two-investor scheme looks hopelessly oversimplified.
Investing is a field where experience matters, but we all operate with a set of beliefs. Staying on top of market research gives useful lessons for investors and challenges common assumptions.
Investing in a traditional index can be compared with taking the main road to a destination, but if you know the backroads and traffic conditions, you coud reach your goal quicker.
Where once the name plates of exciting new fund managers proudly displayed, now there are blank spaces. What is happening in the industry that so many talented people are closing the doors?
Many active managers are closet indexers. The real cost of forcing a skilled manager into a low tracking error is the limit to the upside.
The long bull market allowed passive investing to prosper, but over a whole cycle, companies with better fundamentals will outperform weak ones. The market is finally showing some dispersion.
The ATO has released all the superannuation rates and thresholds that will apply from 1 July 2024. Here's what’s changing and what’s not, and some key considerations and opportunities in the lead up to 30 June and beyond.
Life has radically shifted with my brain cancer, and I don’t know if it will ever be the same again. After decades of writing and a dozen years with Firstlinks, I still want to contribute, but exactly how and when I do that is unclear.
Australia will have 3.7 million more people in a decade's time, though the growth won't be evenly distributed. Over 85s will see the fastest growth, while the number of younger people will barely rise.
Being rich is having a high-paying job and accumulating fancy houses and cars, while being wealthy is owning assets that provide passive income, as well as freedom and flexibility. Knowing the difference can reframe your life.
Investor disgust, consolidation, de-listings, price discounts, activist investors entering - it’s what typically happens at business cycle troughs, and it’s happening to LICs now. That may present a potential opportunity.
The $3 million super tax will capture retired, and soon to retire, public servants and politicians who are members of defined benefit superannuation schemes. Lobbying efforts for exemptions to the tax are intensifying.