Forum Fodder | Friday 21 August 2020
"I think that, by the end of 2021, [a vaccine] will bring the pandemic to an end." - Bill Gates (18 August 2020, The Economist) - Watch the interview
All the best for another week's continuing education! - Graham
P.S. Join us as our guest for "All things considered... A defensible philosophy", AEST 9.00-10am, Friday 28 August 2020, 1.00 CE/CPD hr More info & register

LATEST ON-DEMAND CE...

Markets
Dollar sensationalism
The dollar's recent slide is one in a series of readily explicable fluctuations. Indeed, the most striking takeaway is its resiliency. The explanation is "TINA" - There Is No Alternative.
Barry Eichengreen, University of California | More

Philosophy
All things considered... Market pricing
Market pricing goes to the heart of everything we do in constructing portfolios. But the risk-free rate is artificial as central bank manipulate interest rates to stimulate economies. The implications for asset allocation are significant.
John Coombe, Joe Fernandes, Tim Farrelly & Robert Prugue | 1.00 CE | More

Investing
Research Roundtable - UBS CBRE Global Real Assets
This Research Roundtable focused on the UBS CBRE Global Real Assets strategy, with 10 senior practitioners deciding, after briefings, Q&A and debate, their individual rating for the strategy and whether to include it on a hypothetical APL and/or multi-manager portfolios. Afterwards, the meeting is truncated and published for on-demand viewing by all members.
Portfolio Construction Forum | 1.00 CE on demand | More

Finology 
Research Review: Helping clients achieve their goals
These two research papers present insights into how advisers can better assess and guide how clients think about and structure goals - including savings goals.
Rob Hamshar, Portfolio Construction Forum | 1.00 CE | More

Philosophy | Strategies | Editor's Pick!
A 60/40 "balanced" split will fail superannuants of the 2020s
Somehow the optimal growth/defensive asset split from the 1980s is still considered "balanced" today - never mind that for the first time since the 1930s, the cost of capital is stubbornly static at a negative real return.
Robert Prugue, Callidum Investment Research | 0.25 CE | 1 comment | More

Finology | Invitation to those who give investment advice
Complimentary survey to benchmark your Client Care & Practice knowledge and skills
FASEA requires that financial advisers continually improve their client care and practice knowledge and skills - doing so makes obvious business sense, as well. Our new Finology Benchmarking Indices (FBI) self assessment tool helps you benchmark your investing biases, beliefs and behaviours versus peers, to further empower your “client care and practice” knowledge and skills. It's complimentary to our members who give investment advice, while we continue to develop it.
Take the Finology Benchmarking Indices self assessment

UPCOMING LIVE CE...

Philosophy
"All things considered... a defensible philosophy" zoominar, Friday 28 August 2020 | 1 CE/CPD hour
All things considered challenges your portfolio construction beliefs, helping you identify which remain valid and which require new thinking, to inform your investing knowledge, beliefs and behaviours and help you build better quality investor portfolios. Join us as our guest. More info & register

Strategies
Strategies Conference 2020 "It's a whole new world"
Covid-19 is disrupting societies, economies, and markets around the world like no other crisis since World War II. Policymakers, health workers, business and investors have been caught flat-footed, and without a playbook. Hard choices are having to be made in an environment of deep uncertainty with consequences likely to be felt for decades to come. Life may never return to what we thought of as “normal”. In short - it’s a whole new world. Strategies Conference 2020 will challenge and refresh your portfolio construction thinking as we debate the contemporary and emerging portfolio construction strategies that will help us build better quality investor portfolios in a whole new world. Mark your diary! 30 Sep to 01 Oct 2020. Registration opens next week.

UPCOMING CERTIFICATION...

Certified Investment Management Analyst^® (CIMA^®)
Are you involved in any aspect of constructing multi-manager portfolios?
CIMA certification is the peak, international technical portfolio construction certification program designed for investment management analysts – that is, those involved in any aspect of constructing multi-manager portfolios, whether practitioner or advocate. Stand For More - more knowledge, skill and expertise - with CIMA certification.
Enrolments are now open for the next intake

RECENT ON-DEMAND CE...

Markets
Are financial markets none the wiser?
In April, I argued equity markets might continue to rally despite the collapse of the world economy. And so they have. But in my 40 years of observing and participating in financial markets, I've learned that August is always a month to watch.
Jim O’Neill, Chatham House | More

Markets 
Right for the right reasons
In the last two weeks, very important data on the US economy and corporate earnings have been released. These depressing data are as we had predicted. It remains true that the S&P 500 should drop by 35% from its 1 January level.
Woody Brock, SED | More

Markets | Investing
The state of play
One of the most important tasks for any decision-maker is to continuously stress-test assumptions and mark-to-market their hypotheses as to how the future will unfold. Let's "nowcast" a little.
Christopher Joye, Coolabah Capital | More

Philosophy
All things considered... We don't know what we don't know
Our first All Things Considered zoominar was foundational. Our panel of expert portfolio construction practitioners and academics made the case for questioning our investing activities, and identified some “sacred cows” that are most consequential to investment outcomes AND in greatest need of revision.
Joe Fernandes, Maroš Servátka & Robert Prugue | 1.00 CE | More

Philosophy | Investing | Editor's Pick!
Is active investing doomed as a negative sum game?
Sharpe proposed that active investing must be a losing pursuit in aggregate. This paper takes a critical look at that proposition, and whether it is worthwhile considering using active fund managers.
Geoff Warren, Australian National University | 1.00 CE | More

Stop calling product recommendations advice
Poignant words from Jim Stackpool. An especially good call out in regard to the 'Awards Bubble'...
David Graham, Story Wealth Management | Comment

Markets
Revisiting the white swans of 2020
In February, I warned any number of foreseeable crises - "white swans" - including Covid-19, could trigger a massive global disturbance in 2020. Many are now in play. Why are financial markets ignoring these risks?
Nouriel Roubini, PhD, New York University | 1 comment | More

Finology
Stop calling product recommendations advice
Regardless of how QSuper justifies their focus on limited advice, they cannot justify calling it advice. It is a product recommendation.
Jim Stackpool, Certainty Advice Group | 1 comment | More

Philosophy | Markets | Investing | Editor's Pick!
Research Review: SRI, ESG and controversial investing
Research finds that SRI funds perform as well as conventional funds, ESG equity investing has outperformed in the US, and controversial stocks do best in crises.
Ron Bird, Investment Management Research Program | 1.00 CE | More

Finology
Research Review: Mental Accounting
Humans categorise and form stories about their world - including their financial lives. Two recent papers emphasise the implications of mental accounting, particularly for any investment professional in a client-facing role.
Rob Hamshar, Portfolio Construction Forum | 1.00 CE | More

Finology  | Editor's Pick!
New Word Order - It’s not what you say, it’s what they hear
The way investors respond to the language of financial services can be influenced by using the right words, avoiding others, and structuring messages to overcome skepticism.
Gary DeMoss, Invesco Consulting | 0.50 CE | More

PLUS MORE ON-DEMAND CE...

Forum CE Library - over 540 CE/CPD hours
Complimentary for all Forum members, the Forum's online on-demand CE Library offers over 540 CE/CPD hours of accredited learning resources, to help members meet the CE/CPD requirements of 16 governing bodies (regulators, associations, and institutes) - including ASIC, APRA, FASEA, FMA, AFA, FPA and CIMA^® CE/CPD requirements, to name a few.
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Forum CIMA CE Library - over 75 CE hours
This subset of the full Forum CE Library features just those learning resources that are accredited for CIMA CE hours, so CIMA certificants can more easily find learning resources to meet their recertification obligation (at the same time as meeting the CE/CPD requirements of other governing bodies e.g. ASIC, APRA, FASEA, FMA, etc). 
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