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26 March 2026
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Extract from The Economist on 'smart beta'
Step forward “smart beta”, the latest bit of jargon from the fund-management industry. “Alpha” is the skill required to choose individual assets that will outperform the market; “beta” is the return achieved from exposure to the overall market, for example via an index fund. “Smart beta” is an approach that tries to enhance the return from tracking an asset class by deviating from the traditional “cap-weighted” approach, in which investors simply buy shares or bonds in proportion to their market value.
When a company’s share price rises faster than the rest of the market, this means that it has a bigger weight in a traditional index. When its share price falls, its weight reduces. A strategy that attempts to match the cap-weighted index is thus buying high and selling low; put another way, it has a big exposure to the most expensive stocks. That makes it easier for alternative indices to outperform over the long run.
http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21580518-terrible-name-interesting-trend-rise-smart-beta
Smart beta strategies are rules-based, transparent and claim to outperform the market over the long term. But investors may need to tolerate short term underperformance (Photo: Adam chats to Harry Markowitz).
* 'Smart beta' strategies could reach one-third of all equity allocations by 2017, according to The Financial Times of 15 July 2013.
A more rational taxation system that supports home ownership but discourages asset speculation could provide greater financial support to first home buyers.
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.
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 best way to deal with the incoming Division 296 tax on superannuation is likely doing nothing. Earnings will be taxed regardless of where the money sits, so here are some important considerations.
An ‘affordability’ scheme making the county more vulnerable to economic shocks and contributing to the deteriorating financial situation of everyday Australians.
Prediction markets are blurring the line between investing and speculation and savvy investors can profit from this trend by heeding the advice of famed investor, Benjamin Graham.
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.
Geopolitical instability and challenges with new gold discoveries mean we may be approaching a structural shortage of mineable gold, but what does this mean for gold's overall long-term availability?
In the face of recent market volatility investors continue to add to their ETF portfolios with these ETFs getting notable inflows, indicating that long-term fundamentals remain solid.
Democracies aren’t a given, and policymakers need to be mindful not to alienate communities and instead be more aligned with mainstream ideas and attitudes.
As private funds increasingly show signs of cracking and buckling under a complete lack of liquidity, the salespeople do their best to keep the cash pouring in from new investors.
Ambitious Australia joins a long line of reports examining research and development, finding Australia has fallen behind its peers on many fronts. It urges bold reform to address declining productivity and research spending.