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: 5 minutes Video: Quick highlights Asset Class Performance – global equities power on Global equities were the best performing of our seven major asset classes* in April, while Australian equities also posted good returns.  Supporting stocks was a better than feared US earnings reporting season, persistent low inflation and continued gradual improvement in

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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 Following a “V-shaped” recovery from the sharp market sell-off late last year, US equities now face a reality check as we head into the Q1 earnings reporting season. Although early earnings results have broadly met expectations, there seems more downside than upside risk to the earnings outlook as this year progresses.

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Reading time: 7 minutes Volatility returned to investment markets over the past year as growth accelerated and central banks, especially the US Federal Reserve (Fed), started to remove excess liquidity by raising interest rates and reversing quantitative easing.  As a defensive, income focused equity strategy, the BetaShares Legg Mason Real Income Fund (managed fund) (RINC)

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Quick read: 3 minutes JD.com aka Jingdong could be the biggest company you’ve never heard of. The company started as a small bricks and mortar store in Bejing in 1998 and moved online in 2004. It now provides over 314 million active customers in China with direct access to an unrivalled range of authentic high-quality

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Reading time: 5 minutes AUSSIE! AUSSIE! AUSSIE! The Australian ETF industry finished the first quarter strongly, recording 13% growth for the quarter to reach a fresh high The industry ended March at a record $46.1B, with its market cap increasing by 2.9% (+$1.3B) over the month Trading activity was also very strong, with the monthly

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Reading time: 6 minutes With interest rates around the world in low single digits, investors have been forced to seek stocks paying a decent dividend yield to satisfy their income requirements. In Australia, investors have turned to high dividend payers such as the big four banks (a tough call given the headwinds from the Royal

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Reading time: 5 minutes Property gains on lower rates Australian listed property was the best performing of our seven major asset classes* in March, benefiting from a steep drop in global bond yields as central banks moved back to a more neutral policy stance.  Indeed, Australian bonds were the second best performing asset class as

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