Analysis

by Phil Miall, Head of Credit Research & Strategy, QIC Superannuation funds’ return objectives will become harder to hit through beta alone on the heels of an intensification of the ECB’s quantitative easing program and a clutch of central bank interest rate cuts. Selective credit market investments, including high-yield investments in the beaten-up US energy sector…

by Matthew Peter, Chief Economist, QIC The stylised traditional asset allocation model – with around 60 per cent of the portfolio devoted to growth assets dominated by listed equities and 40 per cent to defensive assets significantly weighted to government bonds  – has served investors well over many years notwithstanding bumps along the way. But no…

Kent Wilkes, Director, Fixed Interest and Inflation, QIC The ‘Happy Season’ is not usually associated with bargains. Quite the opposite. Spending up is the norm and indulging is portrayed as a virtue.  There are, however, investment bargains to be had for those willing to look beyond the headlines. Global inflation protection, for instance, is now on…

By Matthew Peter and Drew Klease* Love him or loathe him, Karl Marx had a way with words. “History repeats itself: first as tragedy, second as farce” is among his most memorable quotes. While Marx might be turning in his grave as investment industry people selectively use his words, they are utterly appropriate as there…

By Matthew Peter, Chief Economist and Jimmy Louca, Senior Economist, QIC Just a few years ago, the AUD marked itself as a new currency heavyweight by achieving and then surpassing parity with the greenback. They were great days for Australians travelling overseas and importers. But as the much (incorrectly) quoted line says, “The past is…

by Phil Miall Head of Credit Research & Strategy, QIC The traumas of 2008/09 were the ‘never again’ moment for a generation of policymakers and regulators. A near-catastrophe once in a lifetime is enough. Preventing a repeat is the priority.   Monetary policy has been lent on as the principle tool of macroeconomic stabilisation, with…

by Matthew Peter* Movie buffs will know that the full name of Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 satirical masterpiece is “Dr Strangelove or: how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb.” It’s a mouthful, so it’s no wonder that most people only know it by the far shorter “Dr Strangelove.”   Compared to the threat of…

(Pictured: Christine Bartlett) by Greg Bright National Australia Bank’s asset servicing business has a long and illustrious history. It’s still the biggest in the market and the last Australian-owned business of its kind. It’s been on both the acquisitive side and the seller side of the market before, with at least three lengthy negotiations for deals…

(Pictured: Peter Sipek) Peter Sipek, director of investment services at AMP Capital, has resigned and left the firm, having headed up investment operations for AMP’s funds management arm since 2006. An AMP spokesperson said that the recruitment process was underway and, until the position was filled, Sharon Davis, AMP Capital’s chief operating officer, would oversee the…