FY18 was a strong year for both microcap and small caps indexes. Once again, microcaps significantly outperformed large caps. The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation Index returned 13.7% for FY18 a healthy return. In contrast, the S&P/ASX Emerging Companies Index posted a stellar return of 23.2% for FY18. Leading to an... Show More
Australia’s ageing population continues to grow due to increasing life expectancy. As the majority of companies operating in the retirement space focus on the higher end of the market, Lifestyle Communities offers a luxury product for those who sit in the lower end. Show More
Seth Klarman is widely recognised as one of the greatest value investors of all time. He is CEO and Portfolio Manager of the Baupost Group, a hedge fund managing over US$31 billion. His book, Margin of Safety is a value investors’ classic. Klarman practically explains the philosophy of value investing... Show More
Howard Marks is the Chairman and Founder of Oaktree Capital Management, an investment firm managing over $120B. This is not a how to invest book and you will not find any step by step instruction. When it comes to investing, Marks believes there is no sure-fire recipe for success. This... Show More
Long before the term disruption was popularised by Silicon Valley, high quality business managers have been alert to the existence of change. In fact, Joseph A. Schumpeter, in Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy noted; Show More
Today I review the investment classic authored by Christopher Browne, ‘The Little Book of Value Investing’. Browne was a partner at Tweedy, Browne Company – the oldest value investing house on Wall Street. Again, I recommend reading the book in its entirety. However, here are my favourite chapters. Show More
Warren Buffett once described himself as being 85% Ben Graham and 15% Phil Fisher. If Ben Graham is the father of value investing, Phil Fisher is the father of growth investing. The primary difference between the two philosophies is clear. Ben Graham’s investments tend to benefit from a one-time profit.... Show More
I wanted to change up the pace, from looking for cheap companies, to looking for expensive companies. Welcome to book number 9 in my top 10 investment books of all time, “The Art of Short Selling”. This book has been written by Kathryn Staley. Kathryn is an expert in the... Show More
Over the next ten days, I will review and post my top 10 investing books of all time - starting with number 10. I hope you enjoy the reviews and they provide you with some new perspectives that improve your investing. This book is a must read for any keen... Show More
Conditions have been good for funds management in recent years. The stock market has been rising, funds have been flowing, and for some, performance fees have been paid. But nine years after the end of the GFC, has ‘the easy money been made’? To find out, we asked Chris Prunty... Show More
When Keppel DC REIT (AJBU.SI) listed on 12 December 2014, it appeared different, at least when compared to a typical property trust. The company’s share price has increased almost 50% since listing, and while such a price rise might have some people questioning how expensive it is, there are plenty... Show More
Blue Sky Alternative Investments Limited continued to re-rate following an excellent FY17 result that came in at the top end of their guidance range. Blue Sky had been largely under the radar of institutional investors but has become much better understood as a result of improved recent disclosure from management... Show More
I hope to enlighten potential investors about the tricks used by fund managers to ‘window dress’ their performance. Some of these tricks can be backed out and where possible I have provided the math below. Show More
Blue Sky Alternative Investments reported a strong FY17 result at the top end of the guidance range after profitably exiting several private equity investments, adding to its credibility, particularly in the private equity space. Show More
Listed investment managers, BT Investment Management (ASX:BTT) and Pacific Current Group (ASX:PAC), each provided positive updates to the market during April and moved higher accordingly. Show More
The decision by Harvard to terminate half of its investment staff and outsource funds management bucks the global trend to internalise funds management. The underperformance achieved in the last decade came despite Harvard having all the factors necessary to recruit and retain excellent fund managers. Harvard has a great brand... Show More
In the spirit of lighter reading into Xmas season, this week's blog by Jack Lowenstein here at Morphic looks at a recent academic publication that examines if there is a link between the cars that Fund Managers chose and the risks they take in their fund. Turns out there is... Show More
The last few months has seen the highest level of M&A activity on the ASX in the last 3-5 years, says Chris Stott, Chief Investment Officer at Wilson Asset Management. With balance sheets in great shape and private equity funds again in acquisition mode, he expects the trend to continue... Show More
In the 1990s, Colonial First State fund manager Greg Perry established himself as an industry doyen. Between 1990 and 2002, the flagship Imputation fund outperformed the market by 11.8% p.a. Together with CEO Chris Cuffe, the duo oversaw a highly successful period, with FUM growing from $150 million to $100... Show More
I have been questioning the sustainability of the asset management gravy train for the best part of two decades. Fred Schwed was lamenting the lack of satisfactory outcomes for clients way back in 1940 when he wrote "Where are the Customers' Yachts?". A brief look at the BRW Rich List... Show More