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
Chris Watling from London-based Longview Economics has been a vocal bear for some time and recently called for an Australian recession. The real question now though is what can investors do with this information? We asked him and his responses were quite surprising. Show More
We asked our portfolio managers to share their views on potential surprises for 2019 which on balance of probabilities are unlikely to happen but shouldn’t be written off entirely. Here are ten potential surprises for 2019. Show More
Chris Watling, CEO and Chief Market Strategist at Longview Economics, recently sounded the recession alarm on the Australian economy. We had the chance to sit down with him to explore his view, hear where he’s seen a very similar set up before, and to learn just how bearish he really... Show More
Reviewing the data for the last six reporting Seasons, I consider here how stocks that were either up or down on the day of reporting subsequently traded over the following four months. The results are very clear. Show More
If you found that last few months of 2018 a bit testing on your nerves, I can assure you that you’re not alone. It seems to have taken equity investors a few extra weeks to get their feet back under the desks after a bruising few months. Show More
A decade-long bull market in global equities has been stoked by loose monetary policy and massive liquidity injections. 2018 saw these policies come to a dramatic halt and the ramifications were felt throughout financial markets globally. Show More
The whole Livewire team is laser-focused on constantly improving your user experience, with relevant, readable content at the heart of that experience. To ensure the content keeps hitting the mark, we monitor a suite of data points. One we put a lot of weight on is the humble ‘like’ button... 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
Deeply embedded human behaviours will ensure that everything in finance will always be cyclical. After a sustained period of good times, the cycle is turning, and investors should prepare for the bad times. Get ready for the upcoming lost decade. Show More
2018 has proven to be a tumultuous year for the Australian equity market. Key themes driving the market’s decline and heightened volatility have included the increase in government regulations, escalation in trade wars and attempts to control the global oil surplus. Show More
In a panel discussion at Livewire Live in 2016, which you can see here, I described my worst fear at that moment: the danger of a trade war. In this wire, I revisit my thesis and ask what it means for investors. Show More
As another year draws to a close, Australia looks forward to the arrival of summer, a much-needed break with family and ideally an Xmas rally. For investors who have weathered a particularly challenging last few months, thoughts will also turn to where the opportunities might be found in the year... Show More
As a provider of asset allocation advice to fund managers and advisors, Brad Matthews provides an expert view of the big picture for each asset class. Weeks before 'Red October', Brad gave Livewire readers an explicit early warning in his wire offering ‘Three reasons to lighten your equity exposure'. Show More
The late and great Sir John Templeton was a man who pulled himself up by the bootstraps and never forgot where he came from. He had a strong concept of thrift and calmly tackled obstacles and adversity. Show More
Some of the worst monthly market returns in history have occurred in the month of October, and I’m sure it will come as no surprise to you to learn that this year’s was one of them. The ASX200 fell -6.1% in October, its worst monthly performance in almost four years.... Show More
The current Fed rate hikes, combined with efforts to shrink its balance sheet, represent the first sustained tightening in US monetary conditions, and therefore much of the developed world, for at least 30 years. So what does this mean for investors and how should they change their investment strategy to... Show More
Getting your personal finances right can be a challenge. Here are 13 tips that may be of use: shop around when it comes to financial services; don’t take on too much debt; allow that interest rates can go up as well as down; allow for rainy days; credit cards are... Show More
October’s share market plunge confirms the view that traditional investment methodologies have their limitations and can be a very unsettling way to protect and grow your wealth. Here we argue that the long-established “endowment model approach” should be embraced for those in charge of their own destiny. Show More
Equity markets are inherently volatile. The flip side of a higher long-term return is higher risk. Circa 10% corrections are not uncommon for equity markets. When they happen they are invariably accompanied by calls of a bear market coming ahead of an impending recession. Occasionally, those calls are right, but... Show More
