Reading time: 3 minutes The surge in oil prices following the recent attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities has once again highlighted the ongoing geopolitical supply risks facing this key global energy sector.  Going forward, this may well mean a risk premium could be added to oil prices even if the Saudis manage to restore

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Reading time: 6 minutes ETF industry continues to prosper as it becomes more mainstream The tenth annual BetaShares/Investment Trends ETF Report provides a unique snapshot of the key statistics and drivers in the Australian Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) industry, from the perspective of self-directed investors, SMSFs and financial planners. The latest report shows the ETF

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Alpha – the elixir of life for active managers and the holy grail for investors that select them. Defined as the excess returns above an appropriate benchmark or the ability to improve a portfolio’s risk profile over passive options, it captures the returns attributable to a manager’s skill. Given such skill is a scarce resource,

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This article was updated September 2019. Financial literacy is a complicated and often sensitive topic. In this post, I won’t cover the personal finance aspects of this area (i.e. saving, budgeting and debt management) and instead I’ll focus on the investment and retirement planning side. Understanding the long-term effects of compounding returns, management fees on

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One of the most common questions I get asked on ETFs relates to liquidity, largely driven by the common misconception that ETFs are somehow illiquid due to the fact that ‘on-screen’ liquidity at times appears limited (particularly compared to popular shares). Even though we have dealt with this area a number of times in other

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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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If you’re interested in getting a start in investing, then Exchange Traded Funds, or ETFs, may well be a great place for you to begin. Once you have a basic understanding of ETFs, you’ll find they’re a more accessible and convenient way to participate in the sharemarket, and usually at a substantially lower cost than

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Over the years, the perennial debate of the relative benefits of passive versus active management has been raging amongst personal investors, finance professionals, academics and just about anyone with an interest in investing. Although there is no doubt that this discussion will continue for years to come, it has become apparent that each management style

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ETFs have been gaining popularity with Australian investors since they first launched on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) nearly 17 years ago. For many SMSF Trustees, ETFs offer a combination of advantages that align well with many SMSF and retirement planning goals. For a number of SMSFs, ETFs can be a particularly useful investment option

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There is no doubt that the overall investment cost differences between Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), traditional unlisted Managed Funds and Listed Investment Companies (LICs) have contributed to the significant in-flows and growing investor interest in ETFs over the past few years. While the benefits of investing in ETFs are varied, and have been discussed at

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