Asset allocation

While central banks around the world move to combat rising inflation through the aggressive hiking of interest rates, the knock-on effect has been broad-based sell-offs in global share markets as investors rotate away from risk assets into safer assets. At the same time, there has also been a sell-off in bond markets which has seen prices fall and yields rise higher.

AXA has launched two new green strategies as part of its plan to expand investment portfolios and rollout into Australian markets. The AXA IM Global Green Bond Fund and the AXA IM Clean Economy Equity Fund will join AXA IM’s flagship Sustainable Equity Fund, which was launched back in 2014.

Platform provider Praemium hosted their latest Key Market Drivers for 2022, focusing on inflation, interest rates, how to position a portfolio in these market conditions and what to tell your clients for your upcoming end-of-year client meetings.

After initially soaring as high as $161, the Domino’s Pizza Enterprises (ASX: DMP) share price has crashed back to earth. So why has the market turned sour on Domino’s?

2022 has been a torrid year for both bond and equity markets, but particularly those outside Australia. Following Friday’s weak close, the S&P500 is now down close to 19 per cent for the calendar year to date and the US government bond index is down around 13 per cent. As readers in the finance professional would know, these are the two key inputs into the 40/60 or ‘balanced’ portfolio.

It’s a well-known fact, women investors outperform their male counterparts and have been doing so for quite some time. New research from investment app, Pearler, has once again confirmed this admission: women have outpaced men in share investing despite wage disparity.

With markets taking a battering, inflation soaring and central banks accelerating interest rate rises, it’s no easy task finding places to invest (or hide) on the ASX. One such company thought to thrive in economic downturns is Credit Corp Group Limited.

In these uncertain times, global asset manager Capital Group believes its important for advisers to step back and consider the long-term trends that are driving companies and markets. The team recently put together the ten most important themes for investors to consider in the year ahead.

If there was one word to summarise the relationship between the big four banks and interest rates, it would be volatile. In March, the banks rallied after the Reserve Bank of Australia shifted its dovish rhetoric and signalled imminent rate rises to combat inflation. Now with the RBA acting on those increases by most recently passing a 50 basis point increase, big four shares are tumbling over themselves.

From its infancy to now, the Exchange Traded Products (ETP) market has been growing exponentially, with 2021 becoming a record year for flows despite the COVID-19 pandemic. What started with about 126 products, has quickly grown to more than 266 products in the Australian market alone.

A 50bps interest rate hike by the RBA wasn’t what anyone was expecting. It takes the cash rate to 85bps – well ahead of most economists’ expectations. What are the knock-on effects?

The central bank expects house price growth to ease this year and house prices are already falling in Sydney and Melbourne; economists expect that price weakness will spread to other cities, which may limit the number of official interest rate rises this year that are needed to tame inflation. According to the Reserve Bank of…