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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Recent market concerns with regard to rising bond yields has once again drawn attention to the value of floating versus fixed rate bonds in such an environment. This note provides an update on the recent performance of these two types of bond exposure. Risk and Return in Fixed vs Floating Bond Exposures  As I’ve previously explained,

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Human capital in asset allocation Most readers and investment professionals will accept that “time in the market” beats “timing the market” as the key to wealth generation over the long run. Despite this, we tend not to think too much about the accumulation process, often making investments on the assumption of a static lump sum

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As every modern day citizen can well attest, we’ve experienced real advancements over recent years. Technology is one area, for example – with the iPhone being  a classic example: you now have access to multiple services such as connecting with your loved ones for a video chat, accessing almost every song ever recorded, monitoring your

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As investors around the world continue to adopt ETFs, there has been an increased focus on the most appropriate way to trade these instruments. We are often asked how one should trade ETFs, and this blog aims to address this – with a very simple rule of thumb to make sure you get what you expect.

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This year’s sky-rocketing Bitcoin price and the fact that, as at the time of writing, Bitcoin’s market cap is over A$130 billion, has brought cryptocurrencies into the public’s consciousness. With Bitcoin’s ultra-high levels of volatility since its inception in 2009 it has truly been a rollercoaster ride! Indeed, there’s not a day that goes by

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Whilst a number of Australian investors derive the majority of income from their share portfolios from the 20 largest companies on the ASX, there can be significant benefits to diversifying away from these shares and looking at the remaining 180 companies that make up the S&P/ASX 200 Index. Indeed, recent reductions in dividends and the

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With the Australian ETF industry recently hitting a record $31B in assets, made up mostly of net new money rather than due to an increase in market value, we are now starting to see a new wave of savvy investors adopting ETFs as core building blocks in their portfolios. For these new investors, or just

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Should you hold individual bonds and “do it yourself” or a diversified bond fund/ETF? One commonly held belief in investing is that holding individual bonds entails less risk than bond funds, due to the return of principal at maturity. Is this correct? If so, does it matter? Ultimately, it depends on the role bonds play

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