Opinion

Following forceful questioning by shareholders at its annual meeting last month, comes news that a class action against IOOF, undertaken by Shine Lawyers, has progressed through the funding stage. A previous proposed action, through lawyers Quinn Emanual, was dropped early this year. Patrick Liddy, the principal of MSI Group consultants, and Shine Lawyers have been…

The investment industry is full of terms that few outsiders understand. Whilst not deliberate, it has becoming increasingly evident that they are doing little to increase the education of end consumers and in fact are more likely to confuse. Using the word ‘drawdown’ for instance, which is a complicated way to say ‘your shares are…

After what has been a tumultuous year for the entire world, it’s time to plot a course for the future, both 2021 and beyond. According to Sam Twidale, Portfolio Manager of DNR Capital’s Emerging Companies strategy, markets may be ‘underestimating the extent of the recovery’. We recently caught up with Sam to understand how he…

New retail investors entered the sharemarket in droves over the first six months of the pandemic’s impact. Contrary to widely held views, for the most part, on average, they did very well. Very well indeed. But one has to be careful of averages. They can often mask skews from big single numbers and rarely do…

As 2020 comes to a close, investors of all kinds are faced with what seems to be a once-in-a lifetime dilemma: how to generate an income in a zero-rate world. Despite clear evidence that investing in stocks solely for their income has generally detracted from, rather than added to, long-term returns, the nature of the…

Self-directed investors are increasingly aware and educated about their investments, if ETF trading activity during COVID-19 is any indication, says Kanish Chugh, head of distribution at issuer ETF Securities. Presenting the latest edition of the ETF Securities Australian ETF Landscape Q4, Chugh adds “In just over three years, the Australian ETF market has doubled its…

LIC/LIT IPO Vintage Year Analysis The listed investment company/listed investment trust (LIC/LIT) sector in the ASX has copped a lot of criticism over the last 12 months, in relation to the apparent mis-selling of new issues and conflicts of interest. We have no interest in revisiting the debate, other than to say that it is…

Aussie fund manager gives Budget an ‘F’ for FAIL The head of the Australian wealth and superannuation manager Nucleus Wealth, Damien Klassen, has drawn a pointed analysis of the Morrison/Frydenberg budget strategy. “The budget misses the mark bigtime, by focusing on the supply side of the economic equation when in fact the biggest issue by…

Is the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price a buy for dividends these days? The biggest Australian bank is currently holding its annual general meeting (AGM). CBA shares are up 1.4% at the time of writing, though it was up more than 2% in early trading. What was said at the AGM? Both the CEO…

The term balanced fund has been somewhat maligned after being the core product of insurance salesmen throughout the 70s and 80s to the catch all for high and low risk superannuation options it is today. Yet with uncertainty comes opportunity, and a new breed of ‘balanced fund’ is emerging. The All-Weather portfolio, run by Melbourne-based…

Hamish Douglass, the CIO of Magellan Financial Group, who oversees the largest Australian-owned global funds manager and is the current darling of the wholesale and retail investor sectors, is relatively sanguine about the possible market impact of the US election, but a bit more worried about COVID-19. Douglass, also Magellan’s co-founder, with Chris Mackay, chairman…

And just like that, Australia’s coking coal-exporting days could be numbered. This week, Australian coking coal exports ordered by Chinese steel mills were diverted away to other countries, and the mills told to stop buying Australian coking coal, joining Beijing’s restrictions on Chinese utilities buying thermal coal, which is used in electric power generation. It’s…