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17 May 2022
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While interest rates remain low at present, and inflation remains an emerging risk, now is the time for investors to be proactive in reviewing their portfolio to ensure their capital is protected.
The nature of private debt brings lender and borrower closer together. They develop a close relationship and use frequent reporting arrangements that allow timely responses to any change in circumstances.
With investors focusing on sustainability more than ever before, we look at the increasing role ESG is playing in private markets and provide some insights into how to factor sustainability into investment decisions.
Long duration assets such as government bonds and property have benefitted from falling interest rates, but a turn is coming. It's time to find assets that may benefit from rising rates, such as private debt.
Howard Marks updates his views on markets and whether we are in a bubble, but his comments on fund managers in public markets, liquidity premiums in private markets and the role of SPACs were most original.
The recent spike in US Treasury bond yields is a clear warning that investors globally are again starting to worry about inflation and the potential impact it could have on monetary policy and financial markets.
In investing, income and capital gains are akin to scoring goals, but successful teams must also stop the other side from scoring. Most portfolios need a manager preserving capital and reducing drawdowns.
There are valid concerns about the coming pain among smaller companies but attractive risk-adjusted lending opportunities exist provided the right checks and precautions are taken.
Due to its illiquidity and higher risk, private debt as an asset class will not suit all investors. But for a patient investor with a longer-term horizon, private debt funds can provide a good risk/return trade off.
As term deposits no longer satisfy the need for income, more investors are turning to alternative sources. Here's a check on where three types of fixed income sit in the company funding structure.
The high yield debt market is now much larger and riskier than just before the GFC. That doesn’t bode well for when the next downturn happens and investors have several options to de-risk.
Non-banks are claiming market share from banks in many forms of private debt, and it's changing the nature of funding for many small to medium businesses.
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?
Increases in commodity prices have fuelled global inflation while benefiting commodities exporters like Australia. Oftentimes, booms lead to busts and investors need to get the timing right on pricing cycles to be successful.
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?