ASX

Focussing on a concentrated portfolio of quality and growing stocks can expose investors to strong profit growth and some of the best companies in the world, Claremont Global’s Bob Desmond said at the Inside Network’s recent Investment Leaders Forum. It just requires thinking through the noise and understanding a company’s culture.

With deteriorating economic conditions dampening the banking outlook, some trading momentum may be leaving the sector after a strong two-month run. Six in 10 trades of big-four banks on the Selfwealth platform in July were sell orders, and headwinds are only picking up from here.

Analysis of June trading by Selfwealth platform users with portfolios of more than $1 million showed clear patterns in how different generations prefer to invest, with Baby Boomers seeking income and quality while Millennials and Gen X-ers prefer exposure to the clean-energy transition and ETFs.

The promise of AI is inflating the prices of big tech stocks, and none have as much positive momentum as Nvidia – a big red flag, says Atrium Investment Management’s Brendan Paul. The key question is whether such companies can maintain long-term growth that justifies their elevated multiples.

Corporate profit growth is expected to moderate, especially in sectors focussed on consumer sales, and mining companies have seen large downgrades. Meanwhile, markets are still not fully pricing in the high risk of recession, some analysts say.

After a three-month run as the most-traded ASX stock on Selfwealth’s platform, Neuron Pharmaceuticals ceded its spot to CBA in June as healthcare, mining and banking stocks jostled for investors’ attention.

Demand for the metals needed for the energy transition and a falling iron ore price are encouraging Rio Tinto and BHP to expand investment and production, analysts say, with the big dividends shareholders have come to expect likely to take a hit.

The public appears to be rewarding efforts to reshape the banking and financial advice industry after the royal commission, with advisers and the banks both enjoying an increase in faith from the community.

As the economy tilts toward recession, portfolio analysts are turning towards sectors and companies that handle cloudy conditions better than most. Healthcare, energy, consumer staples and utilities come into focus, while cyclical sector companies lose favour.

After posting a 16.6 per cent average annual return since 2014 and 31.8 per cent in FY20/21, the Cyan 3G Fund lost 35.8 per cent in FY21/22. So how does it feel, as a fund manager, when things head south in dramatic fashion? The fund’s co-founder, Dean Fergie, speaks to The Inside Network’s James Dunn.

The current economic cycle is too changeable to set any portfolio to autopilot, according to Mason Stevens’ Jacqueline Fernley. Counterpoints to conviction are needed, and the devil’s advocate should be your friend.

The hits keep coming for the country’s primary stock exchange, which is now under investigation by the corporate regulator for its oversight of the doomed upgrade to its clearing system.