A big correction in equities, if it hits in the next year or two, is unlikely to be caused by monetary policy expectations.

Robert Merton, 1997 Nobel Prize winner, has recently penned an article about his views on retirement planning. There are some interesting take aways for Australian practitioners.

What do Richard Nixon, novel "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", and Bridgewater Associates have to do with risk parity investing and Conference 2014?

Are Term Deposits the most boring subject in finance? Actually, they're anything but. The Australian TD market is an area where it is easy to add demonstrable value for clients.

This week's Fodder provides a taste of what's to come in the next few weeks, as we work to publish the online Resources Kit from last week's PortfolioConstruction Forum Conference 2014.

This week's Fodder provides a taste of what's to come in the next few weeks, as we work to publish the online Resources Kit from last week's PortfolioConstruction Forum Conference 2014.

As the first day of our annual Conference program, we hosted the Finology Forum. Our particular focus of finology was as it applies to the giving of investment advice.

The one-day Conference Finology Forum 2014 program (within the overall three-day Conference program) featured leading investment thinkers from around the world presenting on how to more effectively help investors manage their expectations and investment portfolios. This CPD Quiz is for delegates to complete, to receive CPD accreditation.

It is given that we all are wired to act foolishly sometimes, so how can we be better "choice architects" and "decision reassurers" for ourselves and our clients?

This presentation addresses the importance of developing improved and dynamic investment approaches that seek to better understand and manage total portfolio risk as well as identify sources of return.

Individuals are vulnerable to economic and financial risks as they approach and enter retirement. Insights from behavioural finance can be used to enhance risk communication and retirement outcomes.

Investors should be aware of the risks they are exposed to within a portfolio and when they're being paid to take risk (or not). A different approach is needed to build portfolios with better risk awareness.

Formal reports redolent with data and analysis fail to communicate risks as people actually feel them. Reports need to be replaced by rapports, by engaged conversations.

The empirical relation between risk and return in emerging equity markets is flat, or even negative - including controlling for exposures to the size, value and momentum effects.

Company fundamentals don't change nearly as much as equity market prices - and therein lies an opportunity for investors with a longer-term view.

To achieve absolute return objectives, many risk management techniques remain relevant but their application and focus need to change.

Demographic understanding is now one of the most important elements in the areas of government and - importantly for investors - future drivers in financial market returns.

Bonds are no longer risk free. It's time to accept the idea and move on - to broaden the traditional idea of fixed-income as a form of risk mitigation and view it also as a risk-and-return proposition.

China's taken a tough approach to its periphery. This doesn't necessarily spell doom and gloom for Australia and the region.

If geopolitics is far more important in considering investment markets today, how do we integrate geopolitics into portfolio construction?