I distinctly remember one investor telling me how lonely he felt undertaking the task of running his super. Alone with lots of information and no one to speak with or use as a sounding board. I’d never really thought about it until this man described the challenges of making important... Show More
One of the most engaging parts of my role at Livewire is working with Australian fund managers to discuss their views and bring you great content. With over 400 managers now contributing to the platform, overseeing the content can feel like being at the epicentre of the market. Show More
There’s no shortage of big-picture issues playing on investors' nerves right now. Macro and geopolitical forces have a firm grip on sentiment, and 2018 will be recorded as the year that delivered the highest percentage of negative returns across asset classes. Show More
The critical financial issue in the Australian economy at present is clearly the possible economic effect of the decline in home prices. We have been warning about high home prices and household debt since 2015, but have always known that the timing of any downturn would be difficult, if not... Show More
House prices are now falling in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth according to CoreLogic's recently released data. Year-on-year changes in house prices are shown in the chart below. Some media outlets are quoting "experts" who say the housing market is going to fall 40%. I'm going to go out on a... Show More
With Labor tipped to win the next election, and franking credits in their sights, here are eight reasons we believe conservative investors looking for sustainable income over the long term should consider AREITs for their portfolios. Show More
The elephant in the room for residential property is the ongoing pressure on banks' net interest margins. While the recent rise in funding costs has been well documented, this dynamic is persisting. Show More
What would you nominate as the most under-appreciated risk in the market today? There seems to have been an endless carousel of macro ‘bogeymen’, yet markets keep inching higher. So which risks really matter, and which ones have investors overlooked? Show More
With tectonic plates shifting under the markets, we got in touch with three leading economists to get their number one chart in markets today. First up, Cameron Kusher, Principal at CoreLogic, tells us what the market’s been missing in residential housing. Next, Alex Joiner, Chief Economist at IFM Investors, looks... Show More
A phrase consistently heard in the current property market is “I wish the media would stop talking the market down”. Is the media being made a scapegoat for the market’s cyclical fluctuations and corrections which often result in people not achieving the sales results they’d hoped for? Show More
House prices are falling, auction clearance rates continue to drop and there is a such sharp lift in the number of properties for sale that, for the moment, no one is willing to buy at the given asking price. Show More
We recently co-authored a detailed report with independent analysts RiskWise Property Research, following in-depth investigation, modelling and data analysis, assessing Labor’s proposed reforms to negative gearing and the capital gains (CGT) tax discount. Show More
An increasing number of data series have been turning negative for Australia’s housing market. Auction clearance rates, building approvals, housing credit growth, and even house prices themselves appear to have topped. Anecdotes are popping up of units being resold far below their original purchase value, or with significant incentives offered... Show More
We have seen a plethora of analyses in recent weeks from investment banks such as UBS, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup sounding warning bells on the domestic housing market and data from the latest CoreLogic Home Value Index suggests that the Melbourne and Sydney markets are now firmly in retreat. Show More
April was a volatile month indeed – or so you would think if you have been following the news. While sensationalised reporting generates readership, a comprehensive assessment of the data often doesn’t support the narrative. Show More
In our latest 50-page report for funds and institutional investors, Chemical Change, we’ve conducted a detailed consideration of shifts in mortgage lending standards, and the likely outcomes from these changes. Highlighted below are three immediate implications. Show More
Check out our key takeaways from Amazon’s Innovation Day, plus catch up on other notable things that happened around the world this week, and what it all means for you and your investments. Show More
In Australia, many cities have enjoyed a prolonged period of house price increases. As a result, it's safe to say a large number of Australians have fallen in love with residential investment property as an asset class. Show More
Over the past 15 years Australian house prices have been on an incredible run, resulting in Australian households becoming some of the most indebted in the world. So what is the economic cost of Australia’s sky high property prices and what could it mean for property prices in 2018? Show More
Should you rent or buy? It’s the classic housing dilemma. However, with property prices being as high as they are, renting is increasingly looking like a more attractive option. While renting can be the more affordable option in the short term, it can also be the smartest – particularly when... Show More
