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9 April 2026
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New research shows smarter portfolio construction—not new factors—is the real edge in the hunt for alpha. However, finding it requires a fundamentally different mindset.
As a relentless fee war grips Australia’s ETF market, investors may be missing the real battleground. Beyond basis points, index design itself - not cost - may be the most powerful driver of returns.
Factor-based ETFs are bridging the gap between active and passive investing, giving investors low-cost access to proven drivers of long-term returns such as quality, value, momentum and dividend yield.
Investors often express their views on markets by tilting their portfolios towards certain sectors, in the hope of generating excess returns. Factor investing is a more sophisticated tool that can help to achieve better results.
Charlie Munger is famous for applying different 'mental models' to get an edge in markets. In this vain, here's a look at how ecological niches can be applied to stock markets and may help you become a better investor.
As markets whipsaw, the risk that volatility might undermine investors’ ability to achieve their return objectives looms large. What can investors do to mitigate that risk and avoid falling short of their goals?
Real returns on equities and multi-asset portfolios are typically poor when inflation is high, especially in times of stagflation. Factor returns, on the other hand, are relatively insensitive to inflation cycles.
Powerful structural themes such as technology disruption and demographic changes may disguise what is driving company success. Watch these broad categories as they may not apply in ways you expect.
Interest in 'quality' factor ETFs has increased this year, helped by very attractive returns. However, not all ETFs are created alike and there are divergences in portfolio traits which investors can identify.
As more Australians invest overseas, currency exposure represents a new risk. 50% hedged, 50% unhedged was once a popular ‘least regret’ approach, but there's a move to currency as a return source.
Value investing is a long-cycle play, but a decade (and counting) of waiting for mean reversion has tested the faith of even long-horizon investors. Some basic principles are worth assessing.
It's the underlying nutrients in the foods we eat which determine if we have a healthy diet. Similarly, the underlying factors that affect our assets determine if we have a healthy portfolio.
One in five Australians die before retirement and most have not set up their super properly so their loved ones can benefit from all their hard work and savings.
Stay on top of the latest changes to superannuation rates and thresholds for 2026, including increases to transfer balance cap, concessional contributions cap, and non-concessional contributions cap.
An ageing Australia is shifting the superannuation system’s focus from accumulation to the lifecycle of retirement. While these pressures have been anticipated for decades, they are now converging at scale and driving widespread industry change.
The 20 years after Peter Costello left Treasury have been deemed wasted...by Peter Costello. The missed opportunities for Australia began long before.
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.
With the upcoming budget increasingly likely to include bold proposals to alter the tax code I’ve outlined three incremental steps with fewer unintended consequences.