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		G'day  
		
		Fodder kicks off this week, 
		with Dr Pippa Malmgren's very highly rated keynote from last week's 
		Markets Summit program in which she explained
		
		how to pick out key economic signals from the info overload we all 
		suffer. 
		
		Angela reviews
		
		Ibbotson's classic paper on the importance of asset allocation vs 
		manager selection. It should be required pre-reading before anyone 
		is allowed to build portfolios. Read the paper and sit the online CPD 
		Quiz to earn CPD points. 
		
		Next up is regular Faculty 
		member,
		
		Dr Horace "Woody" Brock, on the future prospects for oil prices - 
		and why we shouldn't have been shocked at the collapse in the first 
		place. You can watch his lecture and/or read his paper. 
		
		Also on markets, regular 
		Faculty member,
		
		Chris Watling, makes a US recession risk call. It might seem 
		improbable - but he has a habit of being right on big macro calls. 
		
		Lastly, back on asset 
		allocation and investing,
		
		GMO explains why they're opting out of the good (the US) and buying the 
		"bad and ugly" (Europe and Emerging Markets).  
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		All the best for some great 
		weekend learning! - Graham 
		
		P.S.
		
		The Markets Summit 2015 Resources Kit is now live, so you can 
		"attend" all of the 20-minute presentations. I guarantee you'll take 
		away a bunch of high conviction ideas to apply to portfolios. | 
		
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		LATEST... | 
		
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		SignalsEconomic signals are everywhere. By being alert, anyone can start to 
		navigate through the turbulence of the world economy instead of being 
		surprised by it.
 Hon. Dr Pippa Malmgren, DRPM Group 
		
		 | Resources
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		Just how important is asset allocation?In this seminal paper, Ibbotson confirms that after the decision to 
		actually invest is made, asset allocation and manager selection are 
		equally important.
 Angela Ashton, PortfolioConstruction Forum 
		
		 | 0.50 CE | Research
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		4 reasons for collapsing oil prices (& future prospects)Trader Anuraag 
		Shah, who made a fortune betting on a declining oil price, summarised 
		global astonishment at the collapse in oil prices - "It's bloody nuts!". Actually, no it 
		isn't.
 Dr Woody Brock, SED 
		
		 | White 
		Paper
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		The risk of a US recession in 2016The risk of a US recession in 
		2016 is the most important issue for investors. There are cyclical, 
		structural and secular forces at work in this recession risk call.
 Chris Watling, Longview Economics 
		
		 | Opinion
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		Ditch the good, buy the bad and the uglyDespite forecasters projecting superior US economic growth to continue, 
		we're selling our beloved US quality stocks in favor of the 
		problem children of the investing world.
 Ben Inker, GMO 
		|  Opinion
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		Member 
		commentsAcademy Summer Seminar - Key takeout
 Lower oil prices 
		seem to be with us for some time, unless the instability in the Middle 
		East widens. The Saudis seem to be intent on adding supply to slow the 
		progress of the US energy industry. We have started to see the effect 
		with some companies now stalling. Lower oil prices are a positive for 
		economic growth and company earnings. They also further cement the lack 
		of inflation across the globe, allowing monetary policy to remain 
		loose - positive for equities.
 Paul Hocking, Hillross Financial Services 
		
		 | More 
		about Academy
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		RECENTLY... | 
		
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		Markets Summit 2015 Great Debate - Intl vs Au equitiesIn this not-to-be-missed session of a not-to-be-missed program few 
		prisoners were taken in debating the moot "overweight int'l equities, 
		underweight Au equities".
 Angela Ashton, PortfolioConstruction Forum 
		
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		comments
		
		
		 | Opinion
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		Currency tailwind losing force?Investing globally is increasingly popular, with the expectation of a 
		continued weak AUD being a big driver. But easy currency gains may have 
		already been had.
 Dominic McCormick, Select Asset Management 
		
		 | Opinion
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		The science of spending (money can sometimes buy happiness)New research suggests that sometimes, the best things we can do to 
		improve our happiness may lie in NOT trying to maximise our wealth.
 Michael Kitces, Pinnacle Advisory Group 
		
		 | Research
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		All things considered - outlook for 20152015 has got off to an eventful start - we've seen dramatic changes only 
		five weeks into the year. Here's where I see markets going in 2015. A 
		couple of things really stand out.
 Jonathan Pain, The Pain Report 
		
		 | Opinion
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		Backgrounder: Cyclical? Structural? Secular?This Backgrounder defines the terms "cyclical", "structural" and 
		"secular" and provides examples, in order to increase the clarity of 
		debate about what's really driving markets.
 PortfolioConstruction Forum  |  White 
		Paper
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		Member 
		commentsAcademy Summer Seminar - Key takeout
 The Greeks probably feel like they are talking to the German coast guard 
		at the moment... "Allo, Allo, vot are you zinking!!" Communication is so important - always be looking to getter a deeper 
		understanding of our clients needs and concerns.
 Pascal Julliard, Julliard Financial Services 
		
		 | More 
		about Academy
 
		
		
		
		As always, my over-riding philosophy remains "Buy in Gloom, Sell in 
		Boom"Whilst it is academically interesting to discuss the relative merits of 
		alternative approaches to investing in Chinese equities, the reality is 
		that at circa 3400, the Shanghai index is up almost 70% on where it 
		stood at the start of FY15...  
		
		
		Comment
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		PLUS... 
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