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.
The Australian private credit market has grown rapidly in recent years. Once considered a niche investment strategy, it has become mainstream, attracting capital from a range of sources seeking yield in a low-rate world.
A unique characteristic of high-quality, defensive listed infrastructure companies is their sustained investment profile through the economic cycle. With this in mind, we look to secular trends for opportunities to enhance real growth. One such trend is investment in renewable energy, which is sustaining robust growth despite political headwinds and appears positioned for strong ongoing gains.
It’s well known that most Australian portfolios are overweight equities to the detriment of their debt exposure. It’s easy to understand why. Local and global equities have performed strongly over the long term, and particularly since the pandemic selloff. It’s also easier for most investors to understand equities than debt.
Have you ever invested in a fund with the expectation that you’ll be able to sell your stake at a fair price, only to discover liquidity was non-existent when you eventually tried to sell? Welcome to the liquidity illusion, the time-worn tendency for investors to run for the exits at exactly the same moment only to discover the exit is closed.
Contrarian investing is the discipline of seeking value where others refuse to look. Most investors endorse it in theory, yet few have the nerve to put it into practice. After all, human instinct favours the comfort of the herd. But history shows that contrarian investors often earn superior risk-adjusted returns. Warren Buffett’s maxim about being greedy when others are fearful may be over-quoted, but its truth endures.
The Australian mortgage fund sector has grown to become an important bridge between investor capital and property lending. While the sector remains comparatively young, its recent trajectory invites a compelling question: what if the sector were to follow the path carved out by the more mature US market? The answer may provide valuable insight into the opportunities and risks that lie ahead…
Global bond markets are far from boring in 2025. The death of the ‘TINA’ era (‘There is No Alternative’ to Equities) is resulting in surging bond demand from institutional and superannuation investors, while the supply of primary local issuance is under strain.
Australia’s commercial property sector is in the midst of transformation. Long gone are the times when the hottest markets were congregated in the country’s most populated city centres. Regional hubs like Wollongong, Newcastle, Ipswich, and the Sunshine Coast have emerged as major post-pandemic winners.
Mankind has a short memory — and in finance, that forgetfulness comes at a price.
After three decades in private lending, I’ve seen the same cycle repeat itself three times. Each time, I’ve raised the warning flag. Each time, the industry has dismissed it as professional jealousy. Each time, I’ve been proved right.
There’s some sobering news to report. Despite being one of the world’s richest nations in personal wealth terms, Australia has slipped to 105th out of 145 countries in Harvard University’s Economic Complexity Index (ECI)