Ask most investors what determines their long-term returns and they’ll most likely talk about their asset allocation, the way they select their fund managers or their track records at getting macro calls right.
If you're planning to invest $500,000 in Australia in 2026, the timing may be in your favour. With the Reserve Bank holding the cash rate steady at 3.6% and markets entering a phase of cautious recovery, investors are navigating a landscape shaped by stabilising inflation, firmer demand, and new appetite for resilient, income-producing assets.
Most market commentaries explain major price moves after the fact with tidy causes that sound obvious only in hindsight. In my opinion, that’s not an intellectually honest approach in the current environment.
If you're planning to invest $500,000 in Australia in 2026, the timing may be in your favour. With the Reserve Bank holding the cash rate steady at 3.6% and markets entering a phase of cautious recovery, investors are navigating a landscape shaped by stabilising inflation, firmer demand, and new appetite for resilient, income-producing assets.
Most market commentaries explain major price moves after the fact with tidy causes that sound obvious only in hindsight. In my opinion, that’s not an intellectually honest approach in the current environment.
Learning from successful professional fund managers is often a shortcut to better investment results. It’s equally informative when there’s a noteworthy shift that brings a previously successful investment strategy into question. Enter the Dalio dilemma.
For many years since its 1989 peak the Japanese stock market underperformed its developed world counterparts, and most global investors’ Japanese allocations trended lower.
But that was then and this is now. The Japanese market recently broke through its 1989 peak propelled by improved governance, yen weakness, and better capital management.
Index concentration is increasingly becoming a concern for investors worldwide.
Consider the S&P 500 Index, the most popular benchmark for US stocks. Over the past decade, the top 10 companies' share of the index's market value has surged from 14% to 33%. This means investing in the S&P 500 largely hinges on the performance of these top 10 companies, the majority of which are tech giants.
With inflation and interest rates remaining higher for longer, the implications for which investment themes have been outperforming and underperforming in recent months has been profound.
With inflation and interest rates remaining higher for longer, the implications for which investment themes have been outperforming and underperforming in recent months has been profound.
The mortgage fund asset class has grown and matured in recent years. For good reason. Mortgage funds often offer investors attractive risk-adjusted returns by virtue of their superior yields. But as with all asset classes, not all mortgage funds are created equal. The recent challenges experienced by GEMI Capital’s investors provide a timely reminder of what can go wrong in this asset class.
One of the longer term criticisms of the active fund management industry is its chronic underinvestment in product research and innovation. But time catches up with all of us. There was only so long active fund managers were going to avoid investing in products which match up with modern day investors’ needs and expectations.
Sustainable investment strategies such as ESG and impact investing have been through a challenging couple of years with recent performance headwinds translating into a slowdown in funds under management growth momentum.
If you’ve notice the growing popularity of managed funds of late, you aren’t alone. After a challenging couple of years, Australia’s managed fund sector resumed growing its funds under management around eighteen months ago. The recent rally in global equity markets is clearly a key driver.
Better treating chronic disease has long been a core objective for the global medtech sector. Whilst steady progress in that direction has the name of the game for decades, the medtech sector appears to be at an inflection point with a secular improvement in treatment standards occurring in recent years. Less-young investors (I’m being polite) will remember a similar feeling in the global technology sector back in 1995, during the early stages of the tech boom.
Most investors currently lack exposure to emerging markets after a generally challenging decade for the asset class prior to 2023. However, over the past year the emerging markets narrative has improved for some structurally-attractive emerging market countries where stock market momentum continues to build.
The fastest rate rising cycle in history was always going to test the commercial property fund sector. With typical loan to value ratios of 40-70%, it’s an asset class which is at the mercy of the RBA’s cash rate decisions. As such, investors tend to be bullish on commercial property funds when rates are falling, but rising rates generally spell bearish sentiment.