This lecture instructs IMAC candidates on the fundamentals of specifying a Neutral Asset Allocation when building investment portfolios.

The Investment Management Analyst Certificate (IMAC) advances investment management analyst knowledge, skill and expertise in a definitive set of competencies necessary for building and/or advising on quality multi-manager portfolios. It is both a structured post-graduate certificate course in its own right, and the Australian-based Registered Education Program for the global Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®) program.

While the impact of US trade tariffs will be far less than investors fear, broad portfolio diversification is paramount and indexed strategies are no longer appropriate.

This lecture instructs IMAC candidates on the characteristics of hedge fund investments.

This lecture instructs IMAC candidates on the characteristics of digital asset investments.

This lecture instructs IMAC candidates on the characteristics of private real asset investments.

This lecture instructs IMAC candidates on the on the definitions and characteristics and the use of public and private real asset investments in multi-asset portfolios.

This lecture instructs IMAC candidates on the characteristics of private equity investtments.

This lecture instructs IMAC candidates on the characteristics of private debt investments.

While some people argue that US trade tariffs will boost the domestic economy, history shows that such policies will more likely reduce international trade and increase unemployment around the world.

This lecture instructs IMAC candidates on the defining characteristics of an asset class.

This Research Spotlight focuses on the Talaria Global Equity strategy, a value-biased global equities exposure executed through the use of exchange traded options.

According to the latest generation of behavioural finance theory, individuals seek life wellbeing (underpinned by financial wellbeing) which additionally incorporates non-financial factors.

We should observe markets as they truly are, rather than filtering them through traditional models and assumptions. This introduction to the Markets short course, Thinking Differently About Markets, explores what it means to "think differently" by challenging conventional economic theories and developing a new perspective on market behaviour.

Enlightenment thinkers played crucial roles in shaping early economic thought, focusing on specialisation and market functions. Part of the Markets short course, Thinking Differently About Markets, this lecture traces the evolution of economic and financial theories to provide historical context to modern thinking about the markets.

Traditional thinking about markets can be limiting - understanding the broader context, rather than relying solely on predefined structures, is crucial for effective decision-making. Part of the Markets short course, Thinking Differently About Markets, this lecture looks at the concept of "markets" both theoretically and practically.

Part of the Markets short course, Thinking Differently About Markets, this lecture explores the themes of money, debt, and financial crises, reviewing both orthodox and heterodox perspectives and how economic thinking has evolved over time.

Understanding monetary policy, credit cycles, and financial stability is crucial for navigating financial markets effectively. Part of the Markets short course, Thinking Differently About Markets, this lecture emphasises the importance of understanding market behaviour, how central banks make interest rate decisions, and the signs that indicate shifts in asset performance and potential investment opportunities.

Markets remain fundamentally games of prediction and reaction, despite technological and financial advancements that have seen financial markets expand, introducing a vast array of investment instruments. Part of the Markets short course, Thinking Differently About Markets, this lecture explores portfolio construction in a financial landscape defined by Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA).

The financial landscape of the next decades will differ significantly from the past 30 years. Part of the Markets short course, Thinking Differently About Markets, this lecture brings together key themes from the previous five lectures then shifts focus towards the future of investing.

Against a heightened Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) macro backdrop, it is crucial that practitioners identify and understand the gaps in markets – including the disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street, equity prices and economic growth, divergence in central bank policies, and valuation discrepancies between private and publicly-traded assets – to reduce the unavoidable dissonance between our own perceptions and market realities and enable us to better understand what lies ahead for economies and investment markets so we can reorient portfolios accordingly. Mind the gap(s)!

The new US administration could upend assumptions about global growth and markets for years to come. Investors need to prepare portfolios now for a new investing era.

Near- and medium-term gaps in current market narratives and perceptions lead to a simple conclusion - it is time for caution.

Extraordinary and interrelated developments are unfolding in politics, geopolitics and deep tech innovation. Trump's disruptive approach has enormous implications for global markets.

By combining AI, alternative data sets, and human expertise, investors can identify new themes, access untapped markets, and capitalise on market dislocations.

As inflation has re-emerged, interest rates have risen and asset prices have levelled off and even declined, a withdrawal of capital from commercial real estate lending markets is creating a new opportunity to be greedy when others are fearful.

For the last decade, technology companies have been rallying. But quality investing is more than just tech. Defensive equity growth opportunities can fill a defensive gap in portfolios.

The heightened VUCA macro environment, coupled with an unprecedented set of industry and government catalysts, is creating a generational investment opportunity for infrastructure.

As the private credit sector grows, it faces increasing media scrutiny, making a manager's approach to disclosure of default rate and causes an increasingly important consideration for investors.

The US (and soon rest of world) hasn't seen this much demand for power since World War 2. While this introduces investment possibilities for many segments, listed infrastructure is disproportionately well-placed to fill this gap.

Investors should pivot exposure to the growing number of high quality, mid-cap companies that have reinvested to develop market-leading products with global opportunities and long runways for growth.

At current valuations, high quality core bonds offer attractive yields relative to cash, as well as the prospect of higher and less volatile returns than equities over the next five years.

Direct lending has become the fastest-growing segment within private credit offering the opportunity for premium yields that are often unavailable in the public credit markets.

As investors chased Mag7, a wide valuation gap opened up. Investors need a fresh growth narrative. TICKing off four markets - China, India, Korea, and Taiwan - is the most efficient starting point and opportunities abound.

The lower coverage of SMID Caps means greater opportunity to exploit market mispricing relative to large caps.

In mid-market Australian private equity, where inefficiencies and hands-on value creation thrive, outsized returns are being captured beyond the public eye.

Understanding the drivers of and outlook for the markets is essential to multi-asset, multi-manager investing (MAMMI). However, MAMMI is full of traps. As the saying goes "It's simple, it's just not easy!".

As we progress through the Trumpification of markets, the political and information prism through which we view the world will help us mind the gap(s) between market perception and investing reality.

Our end of day session revealed delegates' views on which of the high conviction theses they'd heard through the day they intended to investigate further or implement in practice.

Our post-program Implementation Zoominar led by consulting firm, InvestSense, drew together the key takeouts from Markets Summit 2025 and the practical implications for client portfolios, turning the insights from Markets Summit 2025 into actions.

Our Markets Summit program kicks off with a video retrospective of the key events of the prior year...

Equity investors should set aside their fears of a second Trump presidency and focus instead on the structural opportunities presented by decarbonisation.

With monetary policy easing set to provide an additional tailwind for smaller companies, now is the time for practitioners to consider increasing global small caps exposure in portfolios.

The 2024 US election result could potentially upend assumptions about global growth and markets in the years ahead. The next four years could be Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity (VUCA) on steroids!

The consensus on Wall Street is that the equity market will keep on rising in 2025. But independent economist, Andrew Hunt, thinks differently. He argues that the US corporate sector is highly leveraged and struggling to generate profits, with private credit posing a systemic risk.