News

The four majors along with AMP and Macquarie have paid or offered to pay a total of $4.7 million for charging fees for advice services they did not provide and for noncompliant advice, bringing to a close an eight-year review by ASIC and a key chapter of the advice industry shakeup led by the Hayne commission.

Market neutral strategies should be not only used as lever for investors that want an on-call safety valve for volatility, but retained as a strategic holding to drive portfolio performance throughout market seasonality, according to Yarra Capital Management’s Andrew Smith.

Many of the top-performing names in superannuation lead their target allocation categories over long time periods, a newly released quarterly survey from Morningstar showed. But it came with a sobering kicker: there’s still a significant account balance gender gap.

With private equity becoming more accessible, retail investors can now take advantage of the asymmetry-of-information and diversification benefits PE offers, while its safe-haven characteristics stand out in the uncertain macro environment, according to David Chan and Cameron Brownjohn.

At The Inside Network’s Alternatives Symposium, Kyle McCarthy and David Lewis encouraged investors to define private credit very broadly to reap the benefits of diversification and strong risk-adjusted returns.

A new report from AMP shows homeownership rates in Australia steadily declining from their peak in 1966, as longer lifespans and greater individual freedoms contribute to a changing definition of what wealthy means for Australians.

One of Australia’s largest retail super funds will be hauled before the court over allegations it engaged in greenwashing of products in what will likely be a test case for the practice.

A higher net interest margin drove a 10 per cent increase in CBA’s net profit after tax, while Wesfarmers benefited from a strong performance by Kmart Group and the chemicals division. But with much of the upside for these companies already priced in, investors should be clear about valuations before buying in.

Senior secured loans make an attractive proposition in an inflationary environment, says Invesco’s Ashley O’Connor, especially when returns are stable and company defaults are at low tide.

The amount of capital being made available to private companies has surged in recent decades, making it possible, and often preferable, to keep companies private for much longer. Liberty Street Advisors’ Christian Munafo and Schroders’ Claire Smith discussed the opportunities and risks for investors as the private-for-longer trend picks up pace.

Lending specialist Daniel Zwirn spoke candidly about investor “credit myths”, and the misunderstandings that hold people back in the selection and movement of assets in portfolio construction.

Australia can still avoid a recession, RBA Governor Philip Lowe told Parliament in dual grilling sessions in Canberra – while he was keen to remind the country of the need for further belt-tightening and a drop in inflation expectations to keep the path to a soft landing open.