Unlike investing in local shares and property, investors considering exposure to international shares and commodities face the decision of whether to hedge the associated foreign currency exposure.
All else constant, if you are bullish on a global investment exposure but also bullish on the Australian dollar, it makes sense to seek a currency-hedged exposure if available,

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As we enter the second half of 2020, it’s clear that the steady sharemarket rise of the last 10 years has ended, and we are in a new time of volatility and uncertainty. Following the historic market sell-off in Q1 and subsequent recovery in Q2,

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Key global trends – equity rally continues
Despite still-rising COVID-19 cases globally – and signs of a tempering in the economic rebound – the V-shaped global equity recovery continued into July. The MSCI All-Country World Equity Return Index rose by 4.0% in local currency terms,

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It’s no surprise that gold is surging right now, given escalating China/U.S. tensions, real yields at or below zero, and a weakening USD. On 28 July, the gold spot price reached a new all-time high of USD1,959 per ounce, eclipsing the levels set in 2011-12 on fears of QE induced inflation.

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The devastation of the Australian bushfires brought the very real effects of climate change to the forefront of investors’ minds. Now more than ever, many investors are looking to put their dollars to work towards a sustainable future.
Many investors will be aware of our three equity-focused ethical equities ETFs: the Australian Sustainability Leaders ETF (ASX: FAIR),

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The Australian dollar has endured a rollercoaster ride in recent months along with the significant volatility in global risk sentiment. After reviewing a range of fundamental drivers, however, it appears the $A is currently reasonably close to fair value.
An $A valuation framework
A lot has happened since I formally reviewed my $A valuation framework in November last year.

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In the perennial debate about the merits of active vs. passive management, the main claim of active managers is that the higher fees they typically charge are justified by their ability to outperform market benchmarks, and by extension, passive funds that aim to track those benchmarks.

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At the beginning of each financial year, we typically receive many questions around distributions paid by ETFs. With the 19/20 financial year just a few weeks behind us, many investors will likely be turning their mind to the topic of distributions, so we thought we’d provide answers to some of the commonly asked questions.

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AUSTRALIAN EQUITIES DOMINATE FLOWS & SHORT EXPOSURES DOMINATE TRADING
In what will go down as one of the most volatile periods in sharemarket history, Australian investors turned to exchange traded products in record numbers in the first half of 2020. Due to falls in asset values,

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Video: Quick highlights

Key global trends – equity rally continues
The global equity market recovery continued into June, reflecting a lift in some economic indicators as social distancing restrictions eased and investors remained confident that central banks will keep monetary conditions extremely easy.

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