Reading time: 4 minutes Hybrid securities last year again demonstrated their ability to hold up well in the face of equity market volatility. Hybrids: impressive risk-adjusted returns The Investment Manager of our Active Hybrids Fund (ASX: HBRD) recently wrote a post discussing the strong performance of the hybrids market last year.  Indeed, the index of

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Reading time: 4 minutes Beginning in early 2009, the current global equity bull market has been one of the longest on record. While no-one can pick the exact top in the market, a growing number of analysts concede the bull phase is at a mature stage and downside risks are accumulating. Bear markets, when they

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Reading time: 3 minutes History suggests that so-called “quality” companies, i.e. those with a high return on equity (or “ROE”), tend to be able to produce market-beating shareholder returns over time.  As this note details, moreover, quality companies have tended to especially outperform in “late-cycle” market periods, as investors have tended to gravitate toward companies

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Reading time: 3 min Currency, for most investors, has always been a topic that causes consternation. While many investors recognise the diversification value that international investments can bring, the fact that, by definition, such investments bring with them currency considerations adds an additional element to the decision. There is no doubt that managing the currency

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This blog was updated in February 2019. With the longest bull market run in history maturing, it may be time to start thinking about strategies and solutions that offer protection from volatility and falling markets. A number of commentators and investment market analysts now believe that after significant market rises in 2017 and a mixed

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It stands to reason that so-called ‘quality companies’, i.e. those with high return on equity (or “ROE”), tend to be able to produce good shareholder returns over time. After all, if a company can generate high profits relative to its invested equity, it is likely to be well positioned to provide attractive investor returns over

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Jonathan Baird, Investment Specialist, Western Asset Compared to global peers, Australians tend to have a very low allocation to fixed income (bonds) in their investment portfolios, preferring to allocate to cash and term deposits. Yet bonds can be a reliable and stable income investment, providing a relatively high level of capital stability alongside meaningful diversification

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Forget about fake news – have you heard the good news?  In 1990, 35% of the world’s people lived in absolute poverty.  By 2015, just 9.6% did.  By 2015, more than 1.25 billion people were lifted out of extreme poverty, which is roughly 138,000 people per day. The Brookings Institute calculates that half of the

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Financial research suggests that so-called “quality” companies, i.e. those with high return on equity (or “ROE”), tend to be able to produce market-beating shareholder returns.  But as this note demonstrates, it’s not enough to simply rank companies based on their current ROE – rather consideration must also be given to the likely sustainability of their

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The Importance of a Globally Diversified Portfolio The U.S. midterms are once again upon us and, as has often been the case in both Australia and abroad during 2018, it is a time of great political instability and uncertainty. The last several months have already seen markets driven in both directions by trade and tax

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