The digital platforms Facebook and Google are transforming advertising because they have surmounted that perennial marketing problem whereby much of the money spent on marketing failed to reach likely prospects. The numbers surrounding Facebook’s advertising reach are huge. The platform has 2.4 billion users, about two-thirds of who log in... Show More
The Magellan Global Trust is a new investment vehicle to be listed on the ASX that is designed to offer investors a steady income stream from a global equities investment fund; specifically, a target cash distribution of 4% p.a. Other features include a reinvestment plan that provides a 5% discount... Show More
I recently had the opportunity to sit down for 30 minutes with Hamish Douglass, the CIO of Magellan at their new offices in Sydney. We discussed a wide range of topics from his biggest influences to the most impactful trends that are driving his investment strategy today. During my time... Show More
In the AFR I explain my involvement in helping shape the unprecedented new listed investment company (LIC) structure pioneered by global equity hedge fund VGI Partners, which for the first time ever will involve the fund manager---and crucially not the LIC's investors---paying 100% of the enormous 3% sales commissions offered... Show More
Morphic was "outed" over the weekend by the AFR who called us to ask about our disclosed short position in Platinum Asset Management, which they had come across in our disclosed holdings. A lot of funds don't disclose to the market their short positions, but we made the decision that... Show More
Hamish Douglass, CIO of Magellan Financial Group, has told investors that over the next 10 – 25 years a new technology and machine age could prove to be more important than The Industrial Revolution. “We believe that we are nearing an inflexion point in the rate of technological advancement, which... Show More
PayPal is the leading global digital wallet and a leader in mobile and ecommerce payments. It operates a proprietary global technology platform that connects merchants and consumers around the world. PayPal has approximately 173 million active customer accounts. Last year, it processed over $235 billion of payments in nearly 4... Show More
In our view, the current risk pricing environment for high-quality assets is quite extraordinary in a historical context. Pricing for sovereign credit, high quality corporate and financial credit and other high-quality defensive assets is at, or near, record highs at present. The pricing of high-quality assets reflects the prevailing environment... Show More
Hamish Douglass of Magellan says the market should brace for a correction if they’ve underestimated how quickly rates could rise. “We believe markets are factoring in longer-term bond rates a bit over 3 per cent. If you look at what the Federal Reserve is estimating they're really saying long-term rates... Show More
In 1965 Warren Buffett wrote in his letter to investors in the Buffett Partnership: “We derive no comfort because important people, vocal people or great numbers of people agree with us. Nor do we derive comfort if they don’t. A public opinion poll is no substitute for thought.” It is... Show More
The ability to challenge your own ideas was one of the investor attributes that Hamish Douglass said he admired and aspired to in the recently released Magellan Global Annual Investor Report. “Confirmation bias is one of the primary causes of investment mistakes”. Douglass believes that a good investor will seek... Show More
During the quarter, we added several new holdings to the portfolio including wealth manager BT Investment Management Group (BTT). BTT was opportunistically added to the portfolio when major shareholder Westpac Group undertook a major sell-down of its holding reducing its stake from 59% to less than 40%. Despite continued strong... Show More
Dom Giuliano, Portfolio Manager at Magellan says Investors should not be distracted by short-term data trends. In our view, the drivers of US economic growth are gathering strength, justifying the Federal Reserve's moves to end Quantitative Easing and gradually normalise monetary policy. Higher interest rates will be disruptive to markets,... Show More