Australia remains somewhat unique in offering every member of the population the ability to control the investment of their life savings. While not perfect, it clearly remains one of the preferred options, particularly for retirees. You would naturally expect, given the explosion in accessibility and falling costs, that global equities would be as prevalent in…
The S&P/ASX200 finished 0.1% lower as consumer confidence dropped over 7% to the lowest point since the vaccination announcement in November 2020. The market remains mixed with cyclical sectors including energy and materials, up 0.2 and 0.6% respectively, whilst the more defensive healthcare sector underperformed, falling 1.2%. All eyes were on the retail sector, however, with JB HiFi (ASX: JBH) jumping 6.9% and overcoming…
The S&P/ASX200 managed to start the week on a relatively strong footing with corporates awakening from their slumber to deliver some first half updates. The energy and retailing sectors were the highlights on Monday, gaining 1.4 and 2.2% respectively. The biggest influence on the market was Wesfarmers (ASX: WES) which gained 2.6% despite delivering a ‘difficult’ trading update. Management reiterated their…
As the calendar turns over to another year the bubble talk picks up once again. Listening to a popular US podcast called Animal Spirits during the week they referred to the acronym ‘FUD’ referring to Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. Specifically, the hosts were referring to the power of negative headlines, talking about bubbles, busts valuations,…
To start the year, I’ve provided a quick round up of some of the more popular ETFs available to Australian investors, with a particular focus on secular and thematic opportunities within global equities. ETF: iShares Asia 50 ETF (ASX: IAA) Summary: Largest 50 Asian shares ex Japan Asian equity markets continued to underperform as global…
Rates send markets lower, Magellan loses ‘material’ client, gold miners shine The local market benefitted from a strong overseas lead but managed to deliver a gain of just 0.1 per cent on Friday. The technology sector continues to be the largest drag, falling 3.9 per cent for the day and 4.5 per cent for the week, with energy…
Market weaker despite positive lead, unemployment falls, CSL down on acquisition The S&P/ASX200 (ASX: XJO) didn’t follow global markets higher, finishing down 0.4 per cent as CSL (ASX: CSL) dragged both the healthcare sector, down 5.1 per cent and the market lower. The reason was the completion of their capital raising at an 8 per…
Given the seeming obsession with the impending inflation outbreak in Australia, and around the world for that matter, one could be excused for thinking this would be among the most read articles for the year. In fact, it was quite the opposite, with our readership of Australia’s leading financial advisers looking for positivity, not fear….
The passive vs. active debate has now been around for several decades, effectively starting when Jack Bogle founded Vanguard in the 1960s. While headlines highlighting the below-average performance of ‘active’ managers make for great headlines, they offer little insight into what is actually occurring in equity markets around the world. Peter Lynch is a well-known…
Most people are well aware of the many benefits of family trust and self-managed super fund (SMSF) structures, but less so about the potential drawbacks. That is something reflected in the surge in legal disputes between trustees of both structures thus far in 2021, according to Marie Brownell, national manager of estate planning at Equity…
