If you’ve heard the phrases ‘best of both worlds’, ‘smart indexing’ or ‘intelligent exposure’ in relation to an ETF, it’s highly likely that the ETF uses a smart beta approach to investing.
Private Credit has grown into a major part of Australia's lending market. Building on our previous discussion about manager quality, this article explores what ASIC's surveillance found and the risks investors should weigh.
Within a month or so, what may be the largest listing in stock market history is expected to list on the Nasdaq. Anthropic, the company behind the Claude family of AI models, is heading for public markets at a valuation up to US$2 trillion.
Private Credit has grown into a major part of Australia's lending market. Building on our previous discussion about manager quality, this article explores what ASIC's surveillance found and the risks investors should weigh.
Within a month or so, what may be the largest listing in stock market history is expected to list on the Nasdaq. Anthropic, the company behind the Claude family of AI models, is heading for public markets at a valuation up to US$2 trillion.
For decades, the ‘Big Four’ banks were the gatekeepers of Australia’s credit market. If you wanted a loan, you had little choice but to enter a bank branch, where options would be limited to that specific institution’s products.
Geopolitical conflict is one of the fastest ways to trigger market volatility. The recent escalation involving Iran has again reminded investors how quickly sentiment can swing when uncertainty rises.
So, your investment plan is ready and assumes you know how to find the best funds and ETFs to execute your plan. But with over 10,000 managed investment products that Australian investors can pick from, seeing the wood for the trees is easier said than done.
Once upon a time, income investors might simply have used a select group of dividend-paying equities and bonds to cover their needs. Today’s income portfolio looks vastly different – though equities and bonds still play a role.
Investors learnt the hard way long ago.
The theory behind diversification makes intuitive sense to most investors: by combining assets that don’t move in perfect synchrony, investors can reduce portfolio volatility without necessarily sacrificing expected returns. This accepted truth reshaped portfolio construction in the twentieth century and continues to underpin institutional allocation frameworks today.
Buckle up. Markets are undergoing a structural shift. The era of easy gains driven by liquidity and exposure to US big tech appears to be fading. In its place is emerging a more selective environment defined by rising geopolitical risk, elevated inflationary pressures, and widening dispersion between companies, sectors, and asset classes.
Did you know that assets under management in the alternatives space is tipped to hit US$30 trillion by 2030? This asset class has seen extraordinary growth in popularity in recent years, moving swiftly from the sole domain of institutions and wholesale investors to becoming broadly accessible to retail investors. Even if you aren’t exposed in your personal portfolio, there’s a high chance there are alternatives in your superannuation.
2026 is emerging as a year when it pays to understand what’s happening beneath the surface of markets. Whilst global equity markets have been weaker, there have been a number of consequential sectoral shifts behind the index headlines, some of which have insulated savvy investors from the broader weakness. Moreover, some of these shifts may be here to stay, determining the market outlook for the full year and beyond.
Emerging markets (EMs) entered 2026 with strong structural momentum behind them, but the escalation of conflict in Iran has introduced a new layer of geopolitical risk that’s reshaping capital flows, commodity dynamics, and currency regimes.
In recent years, private credit has emerged as a mainstay source of income for many investors, particularly retirees. In an environment defined by persistent inflation, increasingly volatile equity markets, and rising interest rates, some investors have been increasing their exposure to private lending strategies offering yields of 7 to 10% or more.
Imagine needing to withdraw your investment from a fund and being unable to. This is the exact dilemma that investors all over the world have faced. For some, it has been temporary. For others, their money has never been recovered.
Australia’s superannuation system is regarded as one of the most effective retirement savings structures in the world. Yet many investors are underutilising one of its most valuable features: the concessional contributions cap. For the 2025–26 financial year, Australians can contribute up to $30,000 of their pre-tax income into superannuation each year through employer contributions, salary sacrifice, or personal deductible contributions.