With local inflation and interest rates seemingly entrenched at low levels,  this note suggests it now perhaps an opportune time for the Reserve Bank and Federal Government to reconsider the inflation target itself – especially as it now seems a little higher than the international norm. Lower for longer presents dangers Last week marked two

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Industry growth continues into new financial year  The Australian ETF industry continued to grow in the month of July, and is now just shy of $40B, reaching a record high of $39.98B. The industry grew 2.1% in the month ($812m), approximately half of which came from new inflows ($409m) and the remainder from asset growth.

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Global stocks were boosted by strong earnings and the absence of inflation shocks in the United States last month.  Countering recent trends, local financials rebounded for the second month in row. Download the latest update of my Market Trends report, detailing current and potentially emerging trends across equity and bonds markets. Market Trends – August 2018 Update

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In the analysis below we have studied the performance of the BetaShares Active Australian Hybrids Fund (managed fund) (ASX:HBRD) from inception in November 2017 to 31 July 2018, against a range of alternatives. These include an ASX hybrids index published by index provider Solactive (which is the benchmark for HBRD), the fixed-rate Australian bond benchmark

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Sometime between 2008 and 2009, the number of devices connected to the internet surpassed the number of humans using it.  Today, there are close to 4 billion people with access to the internet, while the number of devices connected to the internet is over 8 billion.  By 2020 there will be 30 billion devices connected

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Probably the biggest single macro-economic risk to the ongoing global equity bull market is a sudden upsurge in US wage inflation, due to its tight labour market. This could in turn see US interest rates move up much more quickly.  This note examines the risks. US labour market appears very tight The chart below outlines

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Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have become popular investment options in recent years for Australian investors. An ETF is an open-ended fund which is bought or sold on the sharemarket just like any share and is generally designed to track the performance of an asset class or sector. They are known for their low management fees,

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This is the second part of my discussion on some of the things investors need to consider when choosing between active and passive investment strategies in their portfolios. In my last post a few weeks ago, I provided some definitions to help you understand the ‘lay of the land’. In this second post, I discuss some

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The performance of European and Japanese shares has generally lagged US shares since the global financial crisis, but they now appear to offer scope for outperformance, especially if the $US remains strong.  Furthermore, due to sector and demographic headwinds, any outperformance seems likely to especially favour exporters. Europe & Japan: Lagging the United States As

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Over the last decade or so, beginners and experienced investors alike have turned increasingly to ETFs. The reason is simple; in the highly volatile markets across the planet in the wake of the global financial crisis (GFC), it’s both challenging to pick a winner in a single stock, and easy to miss investment opportunities as

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