Earlier this year I reviewed my top ten investment books of all time on Livewire. My goal was to share some of the perspectives of the world’s best investors. In this wire, I summarise those reviews to identify the top five characteristics of the world's best investors, the 'Super investors'. Show More
I have to GASP when I look at the current valuations of some of the new generation disruptors; we are very clearly in bubble territory. And as with all bubbles, we don’t know when it will end but we do know what happens when it does. Show More
Using a party as an analogy for the current equity market, we think this ten-year ‘party’ is about to finish. While we don’t know what time the lights are going back on, what we do know is that the music is getting louder and the people are getting crazier. Show More
The S&P 500 Index has finished lower in September more than any other month, or 55% of the time, for an average return of negative 1.01% according to Dow Jones Data Group. Their seasonality chart reproduced below shows the average monthly returns for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P... Show More
You make an investment, and it goes well for a while, but then it gets shaky. So you have to make a judgment call: Has the story changed, in which case you sell; or has the story stayed the same, in which case you hold, or buy more to exploit... Show More
Scott Haslem started his career in 1991 as an economist working alongside the likes of Glenn Stevens and Bernie Fraser at the RBA. Today he is the Chief Investment Officer of Crestone Wealth Management, a firm that oversees ~$16 billion of assets on behalf of wealthy individuals and not for... Show More
For the last two calendar years, the Australian dollar has defied our expectations for weakness. But after hitting $US0.81 in January it’s been trending down as US interest rates fell below the Australian cash rate, the threat of a US-driven trade war increased and it recently broke below a short-term... Show More
What exactly is a defensive asset? The answer to this depends very much on who you ask. For some people the priority is liquidity so just holding cash might make sense. For others, it means they have very limited performance volatility so perhaps you could consider a term deposit. And... Show More
The Kilauea volcano has been erupting almost constantly for the past 35 years. The current investment landscape reminds me a lot of Kilauea, with numerous ongoing geopolitical eruptions and their financial ‘lava’ threatening to recast the map of long-standing investment strategies. Show More
It’s ironic I’m writing my first wire to outline techniques you can use to beat professional fund managers. The fact is, most people assume that professional fund managers have an informational edge over everyday investors. This isn’t true. 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
The assumption that Amazon would sweep away all retailers that stand before it resulted in many US retailers being sold down. This hysteria created some interesting opportunities in the retail segment, one of which is Dollar General. Show More
Much has been made of the increased popularity of passive investing, and rightfully so. Markets have generated excellent returns over the long term, and index tracking Funds or ETF’s provide very low-cost exposure to highly diversified portfolios. However, in this wire, we explain what it has in common with investing... Show More
Fundamental analysts spend an inordinate amount of time with Microsoft Excel software trying to gauge the magnitude and direction of the future cash flow evolution of a company with detailed projections around revenue, margin and earnings trajectory. Yet over time, the lesson one learns is that, more often than not,... Show More
The emergence of a US-China trade war (via the threat of tit-for-tat tariffs) has, not surprisingly, spooked investors and led to heightened volatility in global markets in recent weeks. The feud began in March when Trump announced a plan to tax steel and aluminium from China and other countries. Since... Show More
One important thing for investors to think about is how to ensure that the portfolios can be meaningfully protected through inevitable periods of downturn and ensure you remain well positioned to participate in the resultant recovery. In this wire, we discuss five key ways to achieve this. Show More
A very ‘Xīnnián hǎo’ to you, as this month’s Chinese new year zodiac moves from the Rooster to the Year of the Dog. The 12-year repeating nature of Chinese astrology interests us here on The Value Perspective, as this is just the sort of time horizon that should be in... Show More
In our most recent webinar, Steve Johnson, Gareth Brown and Alex Shevelev discuss avoiding speculative madness, the importance of staying invested and at the same time, holding cash when necessary. You can listen to the full webinar at the bottom of this article or fast forward to the relevant area... Show More
When we go into periods of big volatility like this, it is the amount of liquidity in the US wholesale system that decides how long that period of volatility will last. I think this period will last weeks rather than days. I think by the time we get to the... Show More
CommSec's Tom Piotrowski speaks with BKI Investment Company (BKI) Portfolio Manager, Tom Millner about the company’s first half results, its low fee structure and investment opportunities in the infrastructure, financial & healthcare sectors. Show More