Markets

It might just prove a double whammy for self-funded retirees. A looming US recession is not only bringing sharemarket bears out of hibernation but could prompt the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates earlier than many analysts expected.

The last few years have been challenging for markets, but they’ve also reset the playing field for fixed interest. For those seeking income and capital protection in the event of an equities downturn, particularly retirees, it’s time to revisit credit, says Bentham Asset Management’s Richard Quin.

Australian retail investors are trading less since the height of the pandemic, as uncertainty over the direction of markets prompts them to accumulate cash. But while even the pros may be tended to blink, the overwhelmingly buy-and-hold retail cohort is proving its savvy, says nabtrade’s Gemma Dale.

With recessionary fears still dominating the outlook, investors looking to dip their toes into private credit should consider senior secured loans, which offer compelling relative value and added risk mitigation, Invesco said.

Berkshire Hathaway recently added 20.4 million shares of Apple, which now makes up about half its equity holdings. More recent moves suggest Warren Buffett may now be returning to his historical focus on value, via old-school energy investments.

Five per cent on a one-year term deposit will tempt a lot of investors, and with good reason, but equities have proven their worth over the long term. As ever, experts say, personal needs should guide investment selection.

After a punishing innings for her flagship ETF, ARK Invest founder Cathie Wood thinks investors need to stop living in the 70s. This time next year the Fed will be “running in the opposite direction” and deflation will dominate the market, she says.

While active can provides pockets of outperformance both here and globally, research from S&P Global suggests maintaining above-benchmark returns is difficult to maintain.

India’s booming population has many considering whether and how to get exposure to its market, despite its year-to-date underperformance. While it may not be the next China, India’s growth prospects remain attractive, driven by multiple tailwinds, and investors now have more points of access, Mason Stevens says.

Greater efficiencies and technological advances have made platforms integral to investment outcomes, and they are increasingly helping advisers focus more on client relationships by leaving the nuts and bolts up to automated tools, according to a panel of industry leaders.

While commodities proved a safe haven for investors in a brutal 2022, completing a rare two-year run at the top of the asset class returns table, Atchison consultant Kevin Toohey warns against expecting a repeat performance.

Negative-yielding debt topped US$18 trillion at its height in late 2020, representing a quarter of global bonds outstanding at the time. With the stock of negative-yielding bonds now yielding in the positive, owners of the debt face ugly marked-to-market losses – but counter-intuitively, there were investors willing to buy them.