Similar to the Australian Investor’s Association in Australia, the AAII or American Association of Individual Investors, is a significant source of information for self-directed investors of all types. Running a series of events and with a huge following the association is well positioned to measure the pulse of the industry. According to their latest Asset…
Emerging markets including China and India have been among the most popular destinations for investors in recent months, with many attracted to their diversification benefits. There remains a common misconception that these countries are still the ‘manufacturer for the world’, but the companies that now inhabit these countries, in many cases, have surpassed their developed…
In this regular quarterly analysis, we assess the key economic events of the March quarter and seek to identify key opportunities or drivers for the years ahead. Australia Government bond rates were the story of the quarter, with the Australian 10-year yield, an important input into property and other asset valuations, reaching a multi-year high…
We recently hosted our latest Market Thinker’s podcast on the topic of ‘cloud computing’, which despite seeing double-digit growth for close to a decade, is still considered an emerging ‘theme’. The pandemic has forced businesses large and small to accelerate their adoption of cloud computing and other disruptive technologies, and the resulting growth rates have…
This week we reviewed the ARK Invest Space Exploration and Innovation ETF. Despite only being in operation for a short time in financial market terms, ARK Invest may well be one of the most well known names in the ETF sector today. Run by the incredible Dr Cathie Wood, the group is reported to have…
May is shaping up to be one of the most important months for dividend-focused Australian investors, with bank reporting season beginning on May 3, with Westpac’s interim result. The unexpected strength of the sector was brought to light this week after two of the three main ratings agencies upgraded their views on the sector, on…
The Australian exchange-traded fund (ETF) sector has seen stellar growth in recent years: after finishing 2020 at $94 billion, it likely surpassed $100 billion in assets under management in early 2021. As is the case for many aspects of financial markets, the structure, opportunities and purpose of these funds seem lost on the army of…
Despite another week of solid economic and market announcements, the outlook for the economy and more importantly asset markets remain as uncertain as ever. On the one hand, Australian unemployment falling back below 6% should be seen as an emphatic show of strength, supporting a risk on view towards sharemarkets. Yet the threat of an…
In this article, I’ve provided a short update on a number of widely held and strong ‘blue-chip’ businesses following the recent reporting season. Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) lead the earnings reports today, with all eyes on the dividend management delivered $1.50 per share. That represents a 53% increase on the small 2020 dividend but 25% down…
Records fell last week with both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 reaching all-time highs amid a furious rotation into ‘value’ stocks. The record week came on the back of the successful passing of the US Government’s US$1.9 trillion stimulus bill supporting all range of beneficiaries from airlines to state governments and individuals in the…
