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Saturday, 18 September 2021
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With term deposits offering tiny returns, investors are looking for reliable sources of income and capital stability. Combining over 100 loans into a fund provides more diversification than buying a single corporate bond.
Risk isn’t something to be avoided altogether. To achieve returns beyond the government bond rate, some level of risk must be accepted. Assessing which risks to take and calibrating them is the investor's challenge.
In retirement, we still want to reduce stock volatility while generating cash flows. The two needs have not changed, but the reward expected in the old days from interest payments has gone. What should we do?
Everything is rising in value because there is excess capital chasing too few opportunities. Capital should be allocated more responsibly with a focus on the future cash flow from a company.
Investors often overlook the capital risk in high-yielding stocks. It's better to ensure capital grows and investors can sell a portion each year to make up for the shortfall in income from dividends.
Investors are looking overseas for investments more than ever, but most do not hold some of their cash in US$. It gives exposure to the world's leading economy, perhaps at a higher rate.
The Royal Commission focusses heavily on poor incentives amid a sea of damnation and exhaustively-documented case studies, but does not provide answers, especially on the vexed issue of best interests.
Alternative assets can enhance retirement portfolios through diversification, but their use requires skilled navigation and a willingness to compromise on liquidity to allow assets to realise their long-term potential.
Not all business use their capital in the most productive way, and investors need to recognise when companies are struggling to generate cash flows to pay off debts when due.
The benefit of setting investment objectives is most apparent in times of market turmoil, but at any time, defining a preference for maximum returns or minimum risk will help to achieve the right outcome.
In contrast to the way institutions make investment decisions, family offices and high net worth investors display high levels of engagement and often have their unique non-financial objectives to satisfy.
Howard Marks is best known in the global investment community for his ‘Oaktree Memos’ to clients which detail investment strategies and economic insights. Here are some extracts from his latest memo, Risk Revisited Again.
Who knew? With some surprise results, the Government is on unexpected firm ground in asking people to draw on all their assets in retirement, although the comments show what feisty and informed readers we have.
It's a remarkable statistic. In any year since 1875, if you had invested in the Australian stock index, turned away and come back eight years later, your average return would be 120% with no negative periods.
Never stand between Australian households and an uncapped government programme with $3 billion in ‘free money’ to build or renovate their homes. But excess supply is coming with an absence of net migration.
Picking macro trends is difficult. What may seem logical and compelling one minute may completely change a few months later. There are better rewards from focussing on identifying the best companies at good prices.
The RBA Governor says rising house prices are due to "the design of our taxation and social security systems". The OECD says "the prolonged boom in house prices has inflated the wealth of many pensioners without impacting their pension eligibility." What's your view?
Some high-quality companies have emerged even stronger since the onset of COVID and are well placed for outperformance. We call these the ‘COVID Opportunists’ as they are now dominating their specific sectors.