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: 5 minutes Diversification may well be a primary reason for including fixed income in your portfolio. The idea is that your fixed income allocation acts as a defence when equities are not performing well. As a result, the overall volatility (risk) of your portfolio should be lower than if you were 100% invested

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Reading time: 5 minutes Emerging markets no longer only for the brave Some time ago, investing in emerging market companies was not for the faint of heart. Sector exposures were very biased towards manufacturing and agriculture, while the economies these companies operated in were immature and often had structural issues. What’s more, investors brave enough

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Reading time: 5 minutes INDUSTRY RECEIVES ANOTHER $1B OF NET FLOWS AS IT INCHES TOWARDS $50B Falling U.S. equities slowed the rise of the industry this month, with 100% of growth coming from net inflows (+$990m) That said, the industry once again eked out a fresh record high, as it inches towards the milestone $50B mark

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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: 5 minutes Responsible investing is on the rise. According to the Responsible Investment Benchmark Report 2018 Australia, more than half of all professionally managed assets in Australia fall under a responsible investment umbrella. In years gone by, conventional wisdom was that acting in accordance with ethical principles involved a trade-off against portfolio returns.

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