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20 April 2024
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Research finds that private equity claims of offering superior risk-adjusted returns to public markets are exaggerated. Complexity, capital calls, and illiquidity are among the challenges investors face to reap potential rewards.
Inflation is yesterday's issue and markets have started to reflect that. ASX prospects look positive with consumption growth, tax cuts, infrastructure investment, and a Chinese recovery to flow through to corporate earnings.
Inflation has peaked and cash rates are about to peak. That means asset price compression is mostly behind us and 2024 should deliver positive returns for all asset classes, especially those skewed towards income.
It is well known that equities are subject to both booms and busts, testing the discipline of most investors. New research proposes a framework for assessing the likelihood of large equity market drawdowns.
The impact of higher bond yields is cascading through asset classes as higher costs of capital are factored into prices. While bonds may have some respite near-term, stocks are still the best place for long-term returns.
While bond yields are more attractive than they were a year or two ago, they're still not high enough to compensate for the risks of persistent inflation. Equities offer the best prospects for income oriented investors.
How would you invest if you could live forever? Endowments and Sovereign Wealth Funds must address this question, and here are some guidelines about how best to construct your own ultra long-term portfolio.
Asset allocation explains up 70% of total investment returns, making it of critical importance to SMSFs. Here are some guidelines for how they should go about it and the macroeconomic events that could influence allocations.
The Australian fixed income landscape has changed with conditions now likely to provide many of the defensive attributes that investors have traditionally expected. Asset allocations should be reviewed to reflect this.
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.
Underpinning the current wave of consolidation amongst Australian super funds is the belief that it helps to be big. Is this really the case and is there any advantage in being a member of a large super fund?
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.
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.
Jim Simons has achieved breathtaking returns of 62% p.a. over 33 years, a track record like no other, yet he remains little known to the public. Here’s how he’s done it, and the lessons that can be applied to our own investing.
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.