Last week’s technical break higher in US 10-year bond yields has understandably led to concerns that rates could head much higher and potentially undermine equity valuations.  Against this background, this note assesses the outlook for both US bond yields and the equity market. Going Up: US 10-year Yields break the 3% barrier After trading largely

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Despite concerns regarding high valuations and potential regulatory backlash, the latest earnings reporting season continues to highlight the strong and well diversified sources of earnings the tech giants are still able to harness.  This post delves into the actual earnings performance of some of the leading names in the NASDAQ-100 Index. US earnings continue to

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With global markets reeling from the risk of a trade war between the United States and China, the imminent US earnings reporting season could be a timely reminder that the market’s underlying fundamentals – so far at least – remain sound. US Earnings: A bumper quarter in prospect Contrary to persistent fears, US earnings growth

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Australian ETF investor numbers continue to grow as industry enters the mainstream The seventh 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. This year’s findings signpost a continued rapid growth

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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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Given the current US economic expansion is one of the longest on record, it’s natural for investors to ask when the good times might come to an end.  One closely watched indicator is the US yield curve, which has continued to flatten over the past year – but at this stage does not suggest a

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Although “ethical” investing is clearly on the rise, some investors may be dismayed to find what they thought was an ethically orientated investment fund may still be exposed to industries that many values-based investors would be looking to avoid, such as fossil fuel generation, armaments, gambling, tobacco, junk food and alcohol. In this post I look

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BetaShares launched its NASDAQ-100 ETF (ASX code: NDQ) in May 2015, and since then the fund has been on a steady upwards trajectory. The performance of the fund has been over 27% in the past year to end February 2018, driven by strong earnings growth in the technology, healthcare and consumer sectors that dominate the NASDAQ-100 Index

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From the looks of it, it seems as though 2018 will be a year of synchronised economic growth and gradually rising inflation. These circumstances generally create an enviable environment for certain investment sectors, with a fair bit written recently about the potential upside for industries such as banking & consumer and technology stocks. Amongst the

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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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