Comment

Investing in emerging markets is a bit like making a soufflé: it’s a courageous undertaking fraught with the risk of things not working out as hoped. EM economies may be buffeted by political strife, currency crises, and other upheavals, leaving investors a bit deflated.

Global consumer and business confidence have diverged, a trend that started in 2018. It is otherwise pretty rare, only occurring two other times over the last 30-plus years.

The global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) has been in decline since 2017. Combined with the heightened risk of a prolonged US-China trade war; this has caused global interest rates to decline and for the US Federal Reserve to halt any further tightening of monetary policy.

More than in many countries, in Australia home ownership has traditionally been seen as a journey, with most of us aspiring to own a home and pay down a mortgage by the time we retire.

Fewer people in Australia are likely to get financial advice in the wake of the Hayne Royal Commission – the inevitable consequence of implementing the final report’s wide-ranging recommendations.

The Australian Labor Party’s 2019 election campaign showed a depth and breadth of economic policies rare for an opposition party to present. Its policy agenda was boldly extensive. But in developing these policies over the past five years, it seems Labor’s economic minds overlooked some fundamental principles of behavioural economics.

The Coalition has put forward a scheme to help first home buyers get into homes, under which the government will underwrite a loan of 15 per cent of the value of the home, to be treated as part of their deposit, taking a deposit of 5 per cent up to 20 per cent.

Comment by Greg Bright It may seem like a small sample – just 50 investment professionals of big super funds, plus a sprinkling of consultants and managers – but it signifies what appears to be a growing movement to push back against the merger trend promoted by APRA and some industry commentators. The question: “In…

Tactical Global Management (TGM) has recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary, marking a milestone in Australian-born global macro funds management. Founder, Peter Higgs, has also recentlly been diverisfying his brief into the world of ESG-orientated impact investing. Launched in 1997, TGM commenced operations in Brisbane as a specialised tactical asset allocation management firm. It has subsequently…

In a first for sustainability, the UN-backed PRI organisation has linked with the Alternative Investment Management Association to launch next week an international standard questionnaire to aid investors doing their due diligence on alternatives managers. The launch of the standard questionnaire, taking place in London on May 11, aims to: “Improve transparency around ESG factors…

‘Cultural fit’ was both the biggest employee issue and recruitment challenge for asset owners and fund managers, according to a survey by HR consultancy RiskWise Professionals and recruitment firm Super Recruiters. The survey, of 30 senior management at funds and service providers, undertaken in January and February, showed that employers were also concerned about ‘too…

While espousing the benefits of scale in super fund administration, as you would expect from Australia’s largest single administrator, Suzanne Holden is reticent about suggesting that size is the issue that some, including APRA, say. “There are some very successful boutique funds out there,” according to the chief executive of fund administration at Link Group,…