For 20+ years our investment strategies have been based on academic evidence to generate the returns to fund lifetime client goals. Core to this strategy is capturing market return year after year, harnessing the power of compound returns to maximise the probability of success. As part of our ongoing diligence, we study the S&P research, […]
Bitcoin, Xerocoin, Litecoin, Zcash, Dash etc otherwise known as Cryptocurrencies seem to be everywhere at the moment. So what are they? A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography (complex code solving by computers) for security. The common characteristics that are different from traditional (fiat) currency such as the Australian dollar, US […]
Psychologists have long studied decision making and how the human mind works. In partnering with clients to assist in the journey of making smart financial decisions here are a few of the biases which can impede our ability to make balanced decisions and interpret information. Confirmation bias – a tendency to seek, interpret or recall […]
Can you pick the best performing asset class over the next 12 months? Follow the link below to see the best to worst performing asset classes over the past 30 years and see if you can pick the best performer for the next 12 months. The Power of Diversification
Albert Einstein apparently responded ‘compound interest’. In a world where we increasingly expect instant responses and short term results (whilst worrying about how our children/grandchildren will get ahead) there are some fundamental investment principles we can absolutely control to increase the probability of building financial security for our future generations. In the last 17 years […]
It’s easy to understand the benefit of investing in Australian equities given the long history of dividends, tax benefits (via franking credits) and our familiarity with household names including the banks, Telstra, Wesfarmers, AGL etc. which have performed strongly in recent years. Often overlooked is the importance of going beyond our shores to reduce investment […]
In looking back at the major news events during 2016 we thought it worthwhile to reflect on how the media affects markets and investor expectations and emotions. US election in November 2016 – leading into the home stretch all reports predicted Hillary was a sure bet, there was no way Trump was going to win. […]
2016 has seen some major news events (Brexit, the US election) which increased short term volatility in equity markets around the world. Despite the recent volatility, market returns over the last 12 months to 30 November 2016 have been strong. The Australian equities market (ASX 300) has increased by 5.8%. Once dividends are included, the […]
MLC has commissioned IPSOS to prepare a three-part independent whitepaper to explore the challenge of how to get more Australians to think about their retirement. The research, which surveyed more than 2,000 Australians, shows the cost of living, and the impact it will have on future generations. The key themes included are: A majority […]
“Still today, the definition of investment risk remains the volatility of share prices…we refuse to accept volatility as a problem. Our primary risk is not losing money but outliving it.” – Peter Thornhill (Financial Commentator). This month the RBA reduced cash rates to 1.50% pa. At the height of the GFC cash rates were 7% pa. […]
In light of the recent market pullback we have provided the following charts to provide perspective of the longer term which paints a much different picture: The first chart below shows the return of the US Market since the GFC (2009) highlighting the pullback in valuations of greater than 7%. Whilst short term volatility can […]
With government finances continuing to decline and our federal treasurer suggesting working Australians should forget about relying on the aged pension we thought the following riddle might make for good conversation with the up and coming generation in your family. If a lily pond doubled in size every day and it took 10 days to […]
In building an investment strategy to provide independent income streams for life after work we continue to analyse different asset returns given the impact of inflation is often underestimated. Even with a “low” 2.5% pa inflation rate over 20 years, this will result in a 60% rise in the cost of living. To put this […]
To ensure clients continue to get optimal investment outcomes we are continually seeking out reliable research and in the last few weeks the 30 June 2015 SPIVA Scorecard was released. This is a regular paper which compares the historical results of Australian and international equity managers to benchmark returns. In the latest report the evidence […]
At the height of the GFC in 2008, a $500,000 lump sum was enough to generate income equal to the aged pension. Today with interest rates plummeting to generational lows the lump sum has blown out to >$1M. Combine this with the proposed reductions to the age pension asset limit and the population demographics it […]
The media would have you believe that a successful investment experience comes from picking stocks, timing your entry and exit points, making accurate predictions and outguessing the market. Is there a better way? It’s true that some people do get lucky by making bets on certain stocks and sectors or getting in or out at […]
To ensure clients continue to get optimal investment outcomes we are continually seeking out reliable research and in the last few months the 30 June 2014 SPIVA Scorecard was released. This is a regular paper which compares the historical results of Australian and international actively managed investments to benchmark returns. In the latest report the evidence […]
In recent years we have seen contrasting investor profiles of those who are waiting for good news before continuing their regular savings strategy and those who have maintained the discipline of staying the course who have obtained dramatically different results. Investing regularly (e.g. monthly) means purchasing through the market cycle when values are high and […]
(1) “For some reason people take their cues from price action rather than from values. Price is what you pay, value is what you get.” If you own a company with total assets of $1M and someone offers you $700,000 – do you sell even though the price is less than the value? In reality, […]
The latest results from the independently researched Standard & Poors Index Versus Active (SPIVA) Australian scorecard reinforce how difficult it is for active investment managers to generate better than the market returns (referred to as “beating the market”) after fees on a recurring basis. The publically available SPIVA research report measures the performance of active […]
Be it ongoing banking woes in Europe, declining property prices or the slowdown in the resource sector, in many cases the financial media continues to paint a bleak picture of the investment environment. However there is an untold story of success starting to make itself heard amongst wise Australian investors. The widespread reaction to continued […]