Reading time: 4 minutes Commodities are seen by many as one of the building blocks of a balanced portfolio. In basic terms, commodities are goods that are either grown, or dug out of the ground. They are often used as inputs in the production of other goods. Hard commodities are natural resources that are mined

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Reading time: 3 minutes INDUSTRY CONTINUES GROWTH TRAJECTORY IN A TOUGH MONTH FOR SHARES In what was a tough month for equities, the Australian ETF industry continued to grow, and ended the month at an all-time high of $54.1B in funds under management (FuM), with a monthly market cap increase of 1.5% (+$784m). Read on

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Reading time: 5 minutes Given the ongoing trade war and slowing global growth, many investors are understandably concerned about the market outlook.  While I feel a ‘doomsday’ scenario is unlikely anytime soon, this note nonetheless considers what investment options might be of interest to those investors who hold grave concerns – and are seeking portfolio

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Reading time: 4 minutes Gold has woken from its slumber to be up more than 18% since the start of the year (see chart below). Whilst this has been driven by growth concerns and falling real rates, we believe there is still a strong case for including it as part of a broader asset allocation.

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Reading time: 4 minutes MULTIPLE RECORDS TUMBLE AS THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR STARTS WITH A BANG! The Australian ETF industry experienced rapid, and record-breaking growth this month, benefiting from both high net flows and positive market movements. July 2019 was truly a month where records tumbled, with all-time records broken for: total funds

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Reading time: 5 minutes Key Market Trends – bonds still driving equities There were more modest moves in global financial markets over July, with earlier aggressive expectations of US Federal Reserve interest rate cuts tempered somewhat by signalling from the Fed. US-China trade tensions also continued to linger while markets braced for the Q2 US

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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: 3 minutes Eating. It’s one thing we all do on a daily basis. But while we accept that food is an enjoyable staple of life, we typically give little thought to the investment opportunities that agriculture offers. Do you spread margarine on your toast, splash a little soy sauce on your rice, or

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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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As has been evident at investor briefings in recent days, Australian banks appear to be conceding that their past relatively high (by global standards) returns on equity can’t be sustained, due to pressure on net-interest margins and increased capital requirements. That said, given the underperformance of banks over the past year or so – especially

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