Opinion

The March quarter is well and truly over. Unfortunately, the war in Ukraine is not. Chart 1: World equity market returns – March Quarter 2022 Looking at the world chart above, equity markets tumbled across the board in the quarter, except for some small pockets in Singapore and Australia. According to Ausbil, much of it…

The demand from investors for “sustainable” investment products has doubled in the past two years. There are now so many options available for investors to choose from, it can be difficult to choose the right product that aligns with one’s sustainability goals. If you aren’t sure what stocks to buy, a good way to gain…

From the outset, it is important to highlight that I do not disagree that interest rates should be higher than the current ’emergency’ settings by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Rather, in my view, much of the data suggests that interest rate hikes will do little to solve the inflation challenge facing not just…

Australia, being a major global commodity producer, has the potential to become a ‘superpower’ in the new commodity currency order. This is especially true if we consider the current geopolitical events that are taking place: Australia’s strong position should benefit from the renewed focus on gold. Jodi Stanton, CEO of Rush Gold says, “As a…

I recently stumbled on Macquarie’s Open Table national seated dinners chart, which offered a stunning surprise for those commuting to still-empty cities. It shows that Australia is back at pre-Covid levels in terms of eating out, as “restaurant seated diners” numbers have fully recovered. In March 2020, COVID-19 had a disastrous effect as it shut…

One of the more interesting and powerful implications of the pandemic, relating to investment markets at least, is the velocity at which every new piece of news or data is priced-into markets. We only need to look back at the events of March and April 2020 to be reminded that we experienced both the fastest…

For as long as Warren Buffett has been value investing, which has been seven decades, gold bugs have been spruiking their favourite precious metal’s ability to safeguard a portfolio during times of war and act an inflationary hedge when fuel prices rise. An inflationary hedge is one that protects against the decrease of the Australian…

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,…

With slowly moving into the distance, a myriad of negative pressures have created an inflationary outlook shaped by historically high levels of Government stimulus spending, rising interest rates and supply chain disruptions. The ongoing war in Ukraine has only exacerbated existing headwinds. The rapid onset of inflation has caught many advisers off-guard. It means that…

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) has long been admired for its track record of exceptional shareholder returns. If you invested $10,000 in 1984, it would be now worth $7.1 million compared to just $492,000 if invested in the index. But with the Wesfarmers share price down 27% from its high, now is a good time to…

Rising inflation and an expected acceleration in wages growth could fast forward a rise in interest rates, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia, with some experts tipping a rate rise as soon as May. “Inflation had picked up and a further increase was expected, with measures of underlying inflation in the March quarter expected…

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man has declared publicly his intention to take private Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR). Last week Musk sent a $43.4 billion ($54.20 per share) offer to the Twitter Board to buy the remaining 91% of the business he doesn’t already own. The Board is yet to officially respond. Instead, it has since…