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ASX200 0.4% higher, quiet day of news, Fortescue (ASX:FMG), Zip Co (ASX:Z1P) among the strongest The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) finished 0.4% higher on very light volume with most participants clearly opting for a long weekend. The consumer and IT sectors continued to outperform behind the likes of Zip Co (ASX:Z1P) and Kogan (ASX:KGN), which finished 2.6% and 3.8% higher respectively. Despite the…

Volumes have been written about the frustrations felt by value managers from the long performance drought endured by their investors because of the big tech stock boom for much of the past 10 years. But what the next chapter brings is still unknown. Signs are there that the rotation which started in the fourth quarter…

Investors need to watch for a surge in poor governance practices by company boards and management under the veil of responding to the impact of COVID-19. The latest stewardship report of a major global manager, Dimensional Fund Advisors, warns of an increase in questionable corporate activity this year. Dimensional managed US$527 billion ($A685 billion), as…

Predicting when a sustained rally in value stocks may occur has proved to be a fool’s errand for the past several years, but that hasn’t stopped value managers from trying. In its latest paper on the subject, Lazard Asset Management has provided a pathway, if not a timeline. The paper, ‘Can Investors Still Believe in…

Global real estate investment management firm Heitman has committed to the ambitious target of becoming net carbon neutral for its global private equity real estate portfolio by 2030. Laura Craft, Chicago-based senior v.p., head of global ESG strategy, says that Heitman has had a strong ESG culture for many years, involving the adoption of ESG…

Longlead Capital Partners, the boutique long/short equities manager formed by two key players in the success of Regal Funds Management, has launched a traditional unlisted unit trust to allow better access to its strategies among Australian and New Zealand investors. Longlead, founded by Tim Campbell and Andrew West in 2014, has so far produced some…

With rising insurance premiums and continued fears about the impact of climate change – and whether the world is reacting effectively enough – insurance-linked securities and catastrophe bonds are going through a growth spurt. The March market slump due to COVID-19, which weighed heavily on returns for the first quarter, enabled the asset class to…

Australia has a long way to go to catch up to its major trading partners in its planned spend on new infrastructure, notwithstanding Prime Minister Morrison’s pledge of $100 billion over the next 10 years. This should be something for investors to savour, as well as those who benefit from the multiplier effect for employment….

Almost all fund managers have adopted some form of environmental, social and governance (ESG) analysis to enhance research but its influence on real investment calls remains unclear, according to a new Russell Investments global survey. The Russell 2020 ESG study, which tapped the views of more than 400 asset managers in most regions including Australia…

The launch early in February this year of Australia’s first unlisted fund to be quoted on the ASX, by Magellan group and its administrator, Mainstream, took a while to sink in, not helped by the dislocation caused by the pandemic crisis. But, as Australia at least, is preparing to get back to business at some…