The world has checked into Hotel California – interest rates are failing to stimulate demand and monetary policy is less effective. Successful adaptation will require a re-think of traditional strategic asset allocation approaches.

Low inflationary outcomes and very low interest rates are expected to remain in place for some time. REITs have resisted the attraction of cheap credit and will continue to provide a safe haven.

Trade Wars, the US Election, Brexit 3.0, natural disasters and pandemic risks are causing fear and uncertainty in Australian equity investors. The key to capturing opportunities is to focus on what matters to long-term returns.

Practitioners should examine portfolios for slow or no growth equities, priced like bonds, whose attractions may be inundated by a wave of fiscal stimulus.

Investors are facing a "Code REDD" with reflation, election, duration and disruption all key themes. The reflation theme is favouring a rotation into more cyclical sectors, lower duration assets and lower rating bonds.

High household debt places Australia in a fragile position for further disinflation, implying that bond yields will remain lower for longer. Investors should look to accumulate bonds and ensure portfolios have an appropriate defensive allocation in anticipation of the next downturn.

The best response for investors pondering a future that is always VUCA is to ground their decisions in investment basics. In short, look for mispriced quality companies.

Investors can gain exposure to high quality real estate through global REITs, which offer exposure to sectors experiencing better growth prospects and benefiting from tech disruption.

Markets require constant accommodation to deliver status quo economic (not market) outcomes. Watch for changes in liquidity provision as forward markers of performance.

Corporate bond spreads are now tighter than they were before the GFC, yet corporate leverage is higher. Buy financials, sell corporates.

Emerging market assets and the Australian dollar present as having the greatest upside risk through the remainder of 2020-21.

Innovative firms spend their money on research and long-term investment, rather than on share buy-backs and paying out dividends. To benefit, investors must think in decades.

To fully appreciate the risks and opportunities in a high VUCA environment, portfolio construction practitioners must adopt a mindful approach in order to adapt to unexpected events.

Venture capital is evolving globally to deliver both financial outcomes and also significant and measurable social impact for investors, entrepreneurs and communities.

Traditional metrics suggest equities appear overvalued, but other factors argue against this and indicate a sustainable equity advantage.

The US-China trade deal was supposed to settle global trade uncertainty in 2020. Nothing could be further from the truth. Diversified supply chains are vital to minimising VUCA risks into the 2020s.

Many of the discussions at Davos this year revealed that global elites are struggling to respond to important economic and environmental challenges, in a highly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world.

This lecture explores the concept of ethics, contemporary issues in financial services as they relate to ethics, and the relevancy and application of ethics in our everyday lives.

Practitioners are often reluctant to adopt new solutions because of high risk. "If it has never been done, how do you know it works?". But failure to try new approaches can mean missed opportunities.

Hindsight has taught us the importance of active core bond funds as an insurance policy and now is the time to consider expanding your investable universe as the secular need for income intensifies.