It’s almost impossible to consider investing in an asset class without touching on the subject and relative merits of active versus passive products. Ultimately, there is no ‘right’ answer, as it will depend on each investor’s own circumstances.
While there is certainly an emerging preference of Australian equities over pooled funds, I have noticed a significant increase in the amount of interest from advisers and investors seeking to access overseas markets directly. And despite popular opinion, it’s not just to buy big brands such as Apple, Google or Nike.
It’s no secret that Australian investors love equities. It may be a surprise to learn that Australian investors have the second highest exposure to equities in the world.
For most people, their biggest fear when facing retirement is the possibility of outliving their money. With Australians now living longer, and returns from investment markets likely to be constrained, the timing for more than 5 million baby boomers about to leave the workforce couldn’t be worse.
What are the benefits of manager diversification in an extremely concentrated Australian equity market?
Diversification of manager (or blending as it is also known) is understood to provide many investor benefits. However, we believe that blending can actually remove the majority of any active risk from an alpha-generating manager (that seeks to actively pick stocks to outperform an index).
Advisers are spoilt for choice amongst professionally managed Australian small cap equity funds. The small cap fund peer group has performed exceptionally well, with the average fund returning 14.0 per cent over 2013 – exceeding the benchmark by 14.8 per cent.
Arguably, 2013 was the best year for Australian equities since the Global Financial Crisis, writes Don Williams, CIO, Platypus Asset Management. But can we expect similar results in 2014?
Is it time to start thinking about divesting fossil fuel companies from your client portfolios? Not for the purpose of morality, but to avoid being caught in a ‘Carbon Bubble’ writes Adam Kirk Chief Executive Officer Australian Ethical.
In an investment world that is no longer ‘vanilla’, neither should the solutions be, writes Chad Padowitz, Chief Investment Officer, Wingate Asset Management. Here are three ways to combat retirement’s big issues.
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