The ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) surrendered early gains to finish Friday down 0.6%, pulling the market down -2.3% for the week. Real estate, -5.4%, and industrial’s, -4.6%, were among the hardest hit as Victoria’s spike in COVID-19 cases shut the second largest state down for another six weeks; Qantas Ltd (ASX:QAN) lead the falls down 8.0%. Despite offering a weaker leader to the ASX, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq recorded positive results on Friday, driven 1.1% and 0.8% as the recovery in the banking sector continued.
It was another volatile day for the ASX 200 (ASX:XJO), with the market finishing 0.6% higher, as a weak lead from the US impacted on confidence. The only two detractors were the property and staples sector, with materials and mining once again a highlight, driven by BHP Group Ltd (ASX:BHP), +2.2%, and Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO), 3.3%.
A mixed day ahead, some green shoots and hoarding begins again The ASX 200 finished 1.5% lower following a spike in COVID-19 cases in Melbourne resulting in an extended six-week lockdown. The weakness was exacerbated by record numbers in the US, where a daily record of 60,000 cases was hit. Every sector in the ASX…
Australia’s army of self-managed super fund (SMSF) proprietors show their patriotism in their asset allocation: while they have just under 30% of their portfolios in Australian shares, on the most recent data, their international share holdings are a fraction of this, at 1.2%.
Looking to give your portfolio diversification via direct international equity exposure such as FAANGS? It makes sense to invest internationally as most of the growth that comes from big earners are in other countries. Therefore, the growth potential and risk minimisation benefits are far greater than investing in just Australian equities. For example, by only investing in Australia, you miss out on the large global IT, consumer discretionary and healthcare companies.
As an experienced financial adviser, with over 15 years in the industry assisting and supporting many self-directed investors, I’m always stunned to learn how few investors actively measure the performance of their portfolio. By measuring performance, I don’t mean looking at your 30 June value, dividends receives, or comparing CSL Ltd’s (ASX:CSL) price today to that when you bought for $2 at float; I mean the actual returns you have delivered from hours of analysis for your family.
What is sustainable? In this case I’m not referring to dividends, which clearly weren’t sustainable given the flood of ‘deferrals’ and cancellations delivered in recent months. This week I’m referring to sustainability, as in ‘is a company operating sustainably and not pillaging solely for profit?’.
The need for crude oil – and other fossil fuels – is not going away anytime soon, and investors should be holding some assets that benefit from higher oil prices. That’s the contrarian contention from Tamim Asset Management, which has a near-term (18-24 months target on oil of US$50 a barrel; and, longer-term, does not rule out oil seeing a triple-digit price, which it has not seen since 2014.
I’ve personally adopted the philosophy to ‘challenge everything’ as we move into the post COVID-19 world. There seems to be some level of complacency creeping into markets, investment advice and all matters of economics in recent months meaning it is becoming increasingly importance to question the conventional wisdom.
What a year it has been. From rising geopolitical trade tensions between USA and China to an unprecedented pandemic that spread over multiple countries and brought the global economy to its knees, it has been one unpredictable wild ride. Both the Australian and US markets traded in volatile conditions with many asset classes delivering poor results. The Dow Jones Industrial Index dropped by
