Reading time: 5 minutes There are at least three reasons why it may make sense to have some exposure to government bonds in your portfolio. And in this regard, relatively long “duration” government bonds – such as through the newly launched BetaShares Australian Government Bond ETF (ASX Code: AGVT) – potentially offer the most advantageous

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Reading time: 4 minutes INDUSTRY BREAKS THE $50B BARRIER! It has been another strong performance by the Australian ETF industry in the first six months of 2019. The industry’s funds under management increased by a very significant 25% for the half, to end the financial year at a new record high of $50.9B, with the

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Reading time: 4 minutes Last month, the Toronto Raptors won their first NBA Championship in franchise history against the Golden State Warriors, who had one of the most dominant offences of the last five years.  It is interesting to analyse how the Raptors pulled it off.  Not only did they lead offensively by scoring more

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Reading time: 5 minutes Key Market Trends – bond-driven equity rally May’s US-China trade fears gave way to central bank easing hopes in June, with a further decline in bond yields helping power a rebound in global equity markets.  New dovish signals from the US Federal Reserve saw the $US weaken while the $A firmed

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Reading time: 3 minutes Determining how to spread your funds across investment asset classes of varying risk and potential return is one of your most important investment decisions. Having a lot invested in equities will likely mean your long-run returns will be higher, but also that you will have to endure more volatility along the

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Reading time: 4 minutes Video: Quick highlights Key Market Trends A resumption of US-China trade tensions saw global equities pull back in May, with the MSCI All-Country World Index declining by 5.7% in local currency terms.  As seen in the chart below, this continues the broadly choppy performance of equity markets since early 2018, reflecting

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Reading time: 3 min The first quarter of 2019 saw investors continue to preference investing via the ETF structure compared to traditional mutual funds, which continued to sustain net outflows. Fixed income was most definitely the flavour of the quarter, as investors moved to a decidedly risk-off position in their portfolios. Within equities, North American

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Reading time: 5 minutes FIXATED ON FIXED INCOME AS INDUSTRY APPROACHES $50B MILESTONE The Australian ETF industry started the second quarter of 2019 where the previous quarter finished, with strong monthly growth which led the industry to once again hit a fresh record high, just shy of the milestone $50B mark. The industry ended April

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Reading time: 4 minutes The proposed removal of franking credit rebates that is part of the ALP’s election policy has been an ongoing point of discussion over the last 12 months. Irrespective of debate around the upcoming election or the form any rule changes may ultimately take, a central issue for many investors is how

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Reading time: 4 minutes Beginning in early 2009, the current global equity bull market has been one of the longest on record. While no-one can pick the exact top in the market, a growing number of analysts concede the bull phase is at a mature stage and downside risks are accumulating. Bear markets, when they

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