This week Fodder kicks off with an analysis of the first round of the French presidential election, and what an (increasingly likely) Emmanuel Macron-led France would mean. Then we turn to three offerings on debt markets and investments. In the first, Fed insider, Dr Bob Gay, gives a quick lesson on "Fed speak", interpreting what the Fed's talk of a "symmetrical inflation goal" means for markets. The second is Macquarie's Brett Lewthwaite's top 10-rated presentation from our recent Markets Summit in which he explains why investors should be accumulating duration (watch and earn 0.50 CE hours). And in the third, PIMCO's Jamil Baz and colleagues argue that, unlike equity funds, the majority of active bond funds do outperform their passive peers, at least over the longer term. We end with Professor Jo Earl's top 5-rated Finology Summit session, on how to get clients (ourselves, for that matter) to turn good intentions into action.
All the best for another week's continuing education - Graham
P.S. Stand for more with CIMA certification (more knowledge, more skill, more competence) - the peak, specialist certification for anyone involved in constructing multi-asset, multi-manager portfolios. Enrol today.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK...

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school" - Albert Einstein

LATEST...

Markets
Macron’s mission
The centrist Emmanuel Macron's success in the first round of the French presidential election is likely to re-energise Europe.
Prof Harold James, Princeton University | Opinion

Markets
Decoding the latest Fed speak
The Fed's talk of a symmetrical inflation goal played well to markets when they were in the throes of the reflation trade. Markets are now flipping to the conclusion that transparency amounts to dovish policy.
Dr Robert Gay, Fenwick Advisers | Opinion

Markets | Investing
Now is the time to accumulate duration
As 2017 began, there was (once again) an air of optimism that interest rates are about to return to normal. This optimism dismisses the significant structural headwinds that are prevalent.
Brett Lewthwaite, Macquarie Investment Management | 0.25 CE | Resources
* Rated in the top 10 presentations by Markets Summit 2017 delegates

Investing
Bonds are different: active v passive
Opinions in the active-passive investment debate have drifted poles apart over recent years. This paper finds that, unlike their stock counterparts, active bond mutual funds have largely outperformed their median passive peers over the sample period.
Jamil Baz et al, PIMCO | White Paper

Finology
People know what to do to change - they just need to do it!
Can people easily change their behaviour and take action without support? The Theory of Planned Behaviour can help to promote real change and convert client intentions into outcomes.
Prof Joanne Earl, Flinders University | 1.00 CE | Resources
* Rated in the top 5 presentations by Finology Summit 2017 delegates

A recipe to transfer from the young and poor to the rich and wealthy
...having access to my super to fund a home deposit sounds appealing, until you think about it for more than two seconds.
Robbie Reid, Eqeus | Comment

Housing and superannuation
Yet again, Professor Ron Bird is absolutely correct...
Ray King, Sovereign Investment Research | Comment

Tim Farrelly's observations on US equity valuations
As usual, Tim brings much needed perspective to the questions we regularly ask ourselves...
Cameron Wenck, Shadforth Financial Group | Comment

RECENTLY...

Markets
Expect turbulent US-China ties to test the region
US-China relations under President Donald Trump will be turbulent. This will be testing for an economically interdependent region.
Linda Jakobson, China Matters | 0.50 CE | Resources
* Rated in the top 10 presentations by Markets Summit 2017 delegates

Markets
Crouching Donald, Paper Tiger
Trump is learning that he is hemmed in by the same constraints as Obama's administration. As with Obama, the agent of change is turning out to be an agent of continuity.
Barry Eichengreen, University of California, Berkeley | Opinion

Markets
Welcome to Trump Casino
The market is expecting a big pick-up in earnings from Trump's business friendly tax cuts, deregulation and an infrastructure spending boom. But will it be enough?
Tim Farrelly, farrelly's | Opinion  | 1 comment

Strategies | Investing
Research Review: Only in Scandinavia?
Do professional investors do better when investing on their own behalf? What is the relationship between the remuneration of professional investors and performance? What role to gender and age play in the use of ETFs?
Prof Ron Bird, UTS | Review

Finology
Empathy is the essential skill to survive
The key trait for relating to investors in the future will be the one skill that our brains are not programmed to receive from a computer - empathy.
Michael Kitces, Nerd's Eye View | 0.50 CE | Resources
* Rated in the top 3 presentations by Finology Summit 2017 delegates

Ron Bird, you are wrong
The primary problem with housing affordability is the supply of large amounts of capital to a relatively fixed supply of assets. This is economics 101...
David Lunn, Lifestyle Wealth Partners | Comment

Is the resilience of the Australian economy overstated?
... It is remarkable that Australia has not experienced a recession for 23 years... Looking forward, the outlook is less optimistic on the resilience of the economy.
Brett Lewthwaite, Macquarie Investment Management Australia | Comment

Pains Report
... one thing is for sure and that's the industrial/military/media complex is going to be incredibly destructive to Trump's presidency
Malcolm Eves, Eastern Asset Management | Comment

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