If any confirmation was needed that ESG considerations are likely to have an ongoing and increasing effect on the investment landscape, such confirmation came in mid-August. It was reported that, in an email to the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) written in mid-April, AQR Capital Management (AQR), a major US-based investment manager,

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Last week I read an interesting piece by someone who clearly is not a fan of thematic investing.
He demonstrated the dangers of jumping on the ‘next big thing’, pointing out, for example, the risks faced by early investors in the automobile industry.

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Reading time: 4 minutes
There’s nothing wrong with a few retro items when it comes to your wardrobe or house. I mean, is there anything groovier than a body shirt, flared jeans and a well-chosen pair of boots? Come to think of it, is there anything groovier than the word ‘groovy’?

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Reading time: 3 minutes
Many investors go to a lot of effort trying to pick market (or individual share price) lows and highs, in an attempt to time their entries and exits. It’s a strategy that often goes hand-in-hand with a willingness to take investment decisions based on relatively short-term market movements.

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Reading time: 5 mins
Late last week, German payments giant Wirecard filed for insolvency, owing creditors almost $5.8 billion. The company’s collapse came a week after its auditor, Ernst and Young (EY), found a massive $3.1 billion hole in its books. EY refused to sign off on the company’s 2019 accounts,

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Earlier this month, in Investing for income (Part 1), we looked at the challenges facing investors seeking income in a low interest rate world, and presented several opportunities in the cash and fixed income asset class.
In Part 2, we explore the opportunities to earn income from equities.

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According to a Bloomberg report from June 2019, more than 20% (or US$11 trillion worth) of the investment-grade bonds on issue worldwide were trading at negative yields. In other words, investors buying these bonds know that if they hold them to maturity, they will receive cashflows over the life of the bond that are less than what they are paying for the bond today!

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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 in equities.

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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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