Just because starting conditions are suboptimal does not guarantee that safe withdrawal rates will fail today's retirees.

Are the policy proposals of Prime Minister Abe a signal to re-orient portfolios to Japan?

Without some major shake-up, the Euro will fail. A monetary union between countries with no growth, rising unemployment and decreasing levels of trade with each other is just not credible.

A few weeks ago, a small contingent of Kiwi advisers travelled to Sydney to join around 500 practitioners for the annual PortfolioConstruction Forum Markets Summit. We asked the Kiwi delegates how what they heard is shaping the way they construct portfolios.

Tom discusses why the corporate bond space offers positive real yields in a globally repressed rate environment.

RMB nationalisation and how it is becoming a trading currency, as well as political changes in Thailand, India and the Philippines and how these are triggering bull markets.

Stephen discusses the rise of income investing and the advantages of global equities for income seeking investors. As a global energy specialist, he discusses the US shale energy revolution and industrial renaissance, before concluding with insights on the eurozone, and why it remains a significant and underappreciated threat to a global recovery.

Ethan discusses why risk matters, the characteristics of a higher quality return stream and how size, scale, diversification, costs and non-market risks can influence the consistency and repeatability of an investment process.

Global central bank objectives in 2013, the impact on asset allocation, and avoiding mis-allocation of capital.

Bonds are negatively correlated to equities – so they make a great portfolio diversifier despite their low yields, right?. Wrong.

Adrian will discuss global fundraising and the secondary market including secondary market supply/demand, the market participants, key challenges, market catalysts and how to gain easier access to this much misunderstood asset class.

A recent study confirms that expert financial advice does change consumer behaviour - and consumers see it as more valuable.

Sherlock Holmes would've been intrigued – there were critical things that didn't happen in markets in 2012. Will they, in 2013?

Is the consensus is correct in its assumption that equities are a good place to be right now?

This time Italy's political crisis really matters - and not just to Italy. For the troubled Eurozone, this means its crisis is not only back but worse than before.

Reform doesn't equate to austerity, as Italian voters have shown. US reform does not equate to austerity either.

Most planners struggle to reach and effectively serve Gen X and Gen Y, tending instead to focus their on baby boomers. But it's quite possible serve at least a fairly wide swath of Gen X and Gen Y.

Markets Summit 2013 debated and identified the key investment market and asset class opportunities (and risks) ahead, to help in the search for return and in building better quality investor portfolios.