Since the emergence of “Modern Portfolio Theory” and the “Capital Asset Pricing Model” in the late 1960s, institutional investors have taken a quantitatively driven approach to portfolio construction, looking to create portfolio diversification and obtain better risk-adjusted returns by balancing their asset-class exposures. This journey has seen several important advancements in thinking about how to optimally achieve desired results.
Funds that want to take the total portfolio approach first need to get the total portfolio view. To do that they not only need data – and lots of it – but a rock-solid understanding of exactly how they’re going to use it.
Q&A with Fabio Ferro
This week we had the pleasure of speaking with the exceptional Fabio Ferro, Director of Scala Private Wealth. Specialising in investment advice for high-net-worth families, Fabio is an avid writer and outspoken market commentator. Here’s what he had to say:
Favourite weekend activity in COVID-19 lockdown?
Heading out cycling with my boys.
What was your favourite holiday destination pre-COVID 19?
Italy, of course.
What is the first thing you will be doing post-COVID 19 lockdown?
Holiday to New Zealand (our only option).
Online shopping or bricks & mortar?
Mix, but preference for the bricks-and-mortar experience.
What are you most optimistic about as an Australian?
Covid-19 management.
Four dream dinner guests – historical or current?
Julius Caesar, Eisenhower, Ray Dalio (Bridgwater), Jerome Powell (Federal Reserve).
What is your personal investment policy in 50 words or less?
Objective-based Investment.
What is your preferred investment vehicle?
Stocks all the way.
What is the best investment decision/recommendation you have ever made?
NVIDIA, graphics processing unit chip manufacturer (up 100% in 2020).
What is the worst investment decision/recommendation you have made?
Tribeca.
In the event of financial Armageddon, do you hold gold bullion, cryptocurrency or USD?
Gold Bullion.
What is your biggest concern for investors today?
That everything depends on the Federal Reserve’s policies.
Will President Trump be re-elected in 2020?
Yes.
You can only buy one Australian company for the next 10 years – what is it and why?
CSL – probably the best-managed company in Australia.
You can only buy one global company for the next 10 years – what is it and why?
Microsoft – a great company with the capacity of reinventing itself.
