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22 May 2022
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Data science is increasingly embedded into the research process of investment teams with the resources to exploit new technologies. The way the data is integrated and interpreted is crucial.
Should sin stocks, those companies who engage in activities that are considered unethical or immoral, be excluded from a portfolio, or would this compromise potential performance?
Many large investors pay higher brokerage fees, hoping to gain favour with brokers to gain access to IPOs. Are rare IPO gains worth the loss of quality execution at the best price every day?
Financial advisers spend an inordinate amount of time selecting fund managers for their clients, but is the impact/effort matrix worth it. It's hard enough for good managers to even beat the index.
The main benefit a financial adviser can give clients is not in stock picking or selecting an outperforming manager, but acting as a wealth coach and helping to control emotions.
Chasing higher market returns inevitably comes with higher risk, but is there a portfolio 'sweet spot' that accepts some risk in exchange for better performance, while keeping fees under control?
Choosing a fund manager who outperforms the market on a pre-tax basis is good, but if you also consider the tax effect on that performance, you really start to identify who the best managers are.
Market performance and outperformance can come from many sources, but the main thing to watch for is that you're not paying high 'alpha' fees simply to achieve market 'beta' returns.
The term 'alpha' may be financial jargon, but for fund managers, it's the highly sought-after prize for successful active management that justifies fees charged. But how do you select a good manager?
Every successful fund manager suffers periods of underperformance, and investors who jump from fund to fund chasing results are likely to do badly. Selecting a manager is a long-term decision but what else?
In almost 1,000 responses, our readers differ in voting intentions versus polling of the general population, but they have little doubt who will win and there is widespread disappointment with our politics.
Conservative investors who want the greater capital security of bonds can now lock in 5% but they should stay at the higher end of credit quality. Rises in rates and defaults mean it's not as easy as it looks.
In the last decade, ETFs have become a mainstay of many portfolios, with broad market access to most asset types, as well as a wide array of sectors and themes. Is there a favourite of a CEO who oversees 30 funds?
Believe it or not, betting agencies are in the business of making money, not predicting outcomes. Is there anything we can learn from the current odds on the election results?
Single-member SMSFs face challenges where the eventual beneficiaries (or support team in the event of incapacity) will be the member’s adult children. Even worse, what happens if one or more of the children live overseas?