Asset Allocation
On a recent visit to one of the external managers of our 5 Oceans Fund we asked them for their biggest market worry. The rise of risk parity strategies was the answer.Risk parity strategies are an alternative to the traditional balanced portfolio. The strategy came into being in the 1990s... Show More
Equities
Asset allocation is one of the most important investment planning decisions. The key question: What is the best mix between stocks and bonds, and how should that mix change over time? By focusing on diversification, however, we may lose an important distinction: Not all equities are created equal.Different types of... Show More
Howard Marks has long been regarded as one of the great investment communicators; wise enough to understand how investment markets work and witty enough to explain it in an interesting way. His ad-hoc memos always receive broad coverage and are considered essential reading by many including Warren Buffett. Readers of... Show More
Asset Allocation
Financial advisers and investors may have a tendency to shy away from taking an active approach to currency management due to the perception that currency movements are highly unpredictable. Whilst this may be true in the short term, the longer-term direction of currencies can often be reasonably predictable. Show More
Given the sudden volatility in global markets at the end of 2018, we felt it was important to meet with fund managers we currently invest in and seek out potential new opportunities. So we commenced 2019 with an extensive research program meeting 42 investment managers over 4 weeks in Melbourne,... Show More
Emerging markets were volatile throughout 2018, especially during quarter four as they sold off and took some valuation froth out of the market. This has continued into 2019 thus far, but as investors, it’s important to step back and take a longer-term view of the situation. I recently sat down... Show More
Equities, fixed income, and alternatives tend to get all the media attention and headlines, but there's an oft-forgotten asset class that underpins most investor's portfolio's: cash. Low rates around the world have seen cash fall out of favour with investors in recent years. In this wire, I'll explain some of... Show More
At this time of year many investors look back on the returns achieved in various asset classes in the previous year and reconsider their asset allocations. In 2018, Australian government bonds (+5.2%) soundly beat the ASX accumulation index (-2.8%). The gains for government bonds were driven by yields falling, with... Show More
Education
It has been an incredibly ugly period for funds management in recent months, albeit a very informative one for their investors. Unfortunately, the market environment is transitioning, and in response many fund managers have – simply put – been found wanting. It is exactly this type of period when manager... Show More
Jeremy Grantham, Co-Founder and Chief Investment Strategist at US-based $75 billion fund, GMO, has some form in calling out bubbles. So it was notable that their asset allocation team argued in a recent note that the US market could be a bubble that is now in the early stages of... Show More
