GFC

It isn’t 2008 all over again, but dismissing the broader risks of SVB’s demise would be a mistake for investors, writes Ruffer CIO Henry Maxey.

Making predictions is hard, especially about the future. That hasn’t stopped TCorp from calling an RBA pivot, falling US inflation and corporate earnings, and further deterioration in US-China relations.

“There was either delusion in that respect or they didn’t want to look or they didn’t understand. I think it caught most people by surprise. Anybody who says they saw it coming – that’s very rare.”

While Australia’s super funds have gradually increased their allocation to alternative investments as public market return expectations fall, new research questions whether that’s the best approach.

From Tulip Mania to the Tech Wreck, the history of bubbles shows that they’re harder to spot than investors might think. As Ruffer investment director Lauren French notes in the latest Ruffer Review, even the smartest can fall prey to a market bubble. Isaac Newton, one of the most brilliant mathematicians in history, still lost…

Asset owners haven’t been challenged with a sustained crisis in nearly 20 years, and it’s possible they’ll get one just as they make the jump into markets they’re unfamiliar with. Governance will be key. As inflation climbs and market volatility increases, Rich Nuzum, president of Mercer’s investments and retirements business, says that asset owners need…

As investors speculate on whether the bubble will pop or already has, there’s fewer and fewer safe havens to be found. But it’s worth remembering that it’s not necessarily the end of the world. Yes, the bubble is going to pop, has popped, or is popping. Investors are either about to feel the pain or…

Despite their surging popularity, risks lurk within illiquid assets that put member outcomes and portfolio quality at risk – and there’s little regulation for handling them. Illiquid assets – anything from infrastructure and commercial property to venture capital and private equity – are experiencing a surge in popularity as institutional investors face down a future…

The economic aftermath of Covid-19 was never going to be as bad as it seemed at the time. But governments will be hooked on splashing cash. “Economic scarring” was all anybody could talk about in the immediate aftermath of the first wave of Covid-19, and for good reason; it’s well understood that the effects of…

A time of great change is upon global markets – and the ‘winners’ that everybody is backing might not be the winners at all. It’s essentially an orthodox view among fund managers that the incumbents in any industry will “win” the transition to green energy. After all, they already have the infrastructure in place, stable…