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21 September 2024
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APRA has released a plan to phase out bank hybrid securities and replace them with capital it regards as cheaper and safer. The transition will impact hybrid markets, funding spreads, and investor strategies.
APRA is reviewing hybrid capital bonds issued by banks. This is hardly surprising since the demise of Credit Suisse showed they don't work for the purpose that they are designed, and their continued use must be questioned.
In designing rules to protect investors, ASIC prevents reinvestment in products some people have held for years, even when investors qualify as 'wholesale'. How can ASIC change the rules to correct the imbalance?
Higher distribution levels and potential returns have caused many investors to turn to hybrids for the fixed income portion of their portfolio. Now may be a time to reassess the relative risk-reward balance of the instrument.
Conservative investors are forced to choose between protecting capital and accepting lower income while drawing down capital to maintain living standards or taking additional risk. How can you strike a balance?
Bank hybrids produced excellent returns in the last year and the biggest lesson from March 2020 is that many investors don’t understand the structures, and in a crisis, they panic first and think later.
For investors able to react quickly when stressed selling hits hybrids, excellent margins are available on quality names. The GFC taught experienced investors lessons that are now repeating.
Hybrids are riskier than term deposits but investors are rewarded for the risk. Here is a simple way to consider if the reward is sufficient as the hybrid approaches an expected call date.
CBA's latest PERLS offer is directly offered to hundreds of thousands of investors who already hold CBA shares or other PERLS securities. How does it compare with the rest of the hybrid market?
The threat of Labor denying franking credit refunds led some investors to sell hybrids, widening their margins, which created investment opportunities for those willing to look past the immediate announcement.
Hybrids deliver returns comparable with equities over the long term with less volatility, which makes the risk-adjusted return and lack of correlation to equities an attractive characteristic in a diversified portfolio.
Most fund managers had a strong year in FY2018, but past bumper years when MTAA invested heavily in so called 'low risk' illiquid assets provide a warning in less fortuitous markets.
News Corp's plans to sell Foxtel are surprising in that streaming assets Kayo, Binge and Hubbl look likely to go with it. This and recent events in the US show the bind that legacy TV businesses find themselves in.
This month, Buffett made waves by revealing he’d sold almost 50% of his shares in Apple in the second quarter. The sale not only shows that Buffett has changed his mind on the stock but remains at the peak of his powers.
We’ve seen how the transfer of wealth can work well, with inherited wealth helping families grow and thrive for generations, as well as how things can go horribly wrong. Here are tips on how to get it right.
A new study has found Australians far outlive people in other English-speaking countries. We live four years longer than the average American and two years more than the average Briton, and some of the reasons why may surprise you.
It surprises me how often individual investors and even seasoned financial professionals don’t know the basics of building an investment portfolio. Here is a guide to do just that, as well as the challenges involved.
Steve Eisman, best known for his ‘Big Short’ bet against US subprime mortgages before the 2008 financial crisis, is now long and betting on what he thinks are the two biggest stories of our time: AI and infrastructure.