The first quarter of 2022 was likely the most difficult period in most financial professional’s career. With the majority of investors and asset allocators having only seen market corrections recover quickly, the events of February 2022 resulted in the worst period for both bond markets and the traditional ‘balanced’ portfolio in history. Outside of Ukraine,…
It was another positive day for the local sharemarket with retreating bond yields and more positive stock-specific news sending the S&P/ASX200 another 0.3 per cent higher. In a surprising turn, both the materials and technology sectors underperformed, down 2.6 and 1.6 per cent respectively, while the real estate and industrial sectors added over 2 per…
It was a flat day for the local bourse, with the S&P/ASX200 managing to deliver a gain of just four points or 0.05 per cent as the dualling pull of falling commodity prices and a surge in healthcare offset each other. The materials sector was down 1.5 per cent and energy 0.6, with every other…
The shortened week has begun positively with the S&P/ASX200 gaining 0.6 per cent despite lower-than-normal volumes. The release of the RBA’s policy meeting minutes dominated the conversation with commentary around the proximity of rate hikes now suggesting they will come sooner rather than later. The result was the perceived ‘inflation hedges’ within the market outperforming,…
The Australian economy has rebounded quickly after the Omicron lockdowns, which saw many predict another technical recession (two consecutive quarters of shrinking GDP) in 2021. With restrictions released, the consumer contributed to a 3.4% jump in economic growth in the December quarter. Consumer spending jumped 6.3%, however, exports fell and private investment reversed due to…
Value managers are seeing somewhat of a renaissance in 2022; at the very least, those which have been overweight underperforming materials, financials and traditional cyclical companies have done exceptionally well. Platinum Asset Management (ASX:PTM) remains one of Australia’s most well-known value managers, but the last decade has not been easy for the firm. In fact,…
It was another weak day for the local market with every major sector falling on Tuesday and dragging the S&P/ASX200 down another 0.4 per cent. The primary driver remains the oil price, which fell by 4 per cent, and the surging bond yields impacting valuations. This trend has benefitted the gold mining sector which contributed…
It was another volatile day for the S&P/ASX200, with the market trading significantly higher before reversing gains to finish up just 0.1 per cent. The market and individual sectors continue to diverge on a daily basis as the pressure of the 10-year Australian government bond yield impacts valuations very differently. The financial and banking sector…
A strong rally to close out the week, with the S&P/ASX200 finishing 0.5 per cent higher, wasn’t enough to offset downward pressure during the week, with the market ultimately losing 0.2 per cent. Performance was varied on Friday, with materials and industrials both outperforming, gaining 1.3 and 0.9 per cent amid surging commodity prices and…
As it stands in 2022, 1.7 million Australians are now invested into exchange-traded funds (ETFs); that represents 33 per cent growth on a year ago. For the uninitiated, an ETF is simply an investment product, structured as a unit trust, which holds shares on behalf of the investor and is listed on a stock exchange…
