In this Workshop, two full-time research professionals demonstrated how they would design a portfolio for a real investor, based on a real world portfolio construction case study submitted by one of the Symposium delegates...

As with debt portfolios, many advisers are designing and building direct equity portfolios of NZ and Australian equities. In this Critical Issues Forum, our presenters had 15 minutes each to argue their case - one for using passive direct equities via ETFs when building NZ/Australian equity portfolios and the other for using active managed funds...

This Critical Issues Forum discussed the key macro-economic and geopolitical issues we cannot afford to lose sight of in constructing portfolios, before turning to the current status, key issue and outlook for global equity markets...

In the short term, we often see dramatic differences in the performance of hedged versus unhedged portfolios. This interactive Workshop debated the pros and cons of various currency hedging strategies and provided insights into what you should consider in setting your own currency management policy.

Many New Zealand advisers are designing and building debt portfolios by buying bonds direct. Our two presenters had 15 minutes each to argue their case - one for building direct debt portfolios and the other for using active managed funds.

MPT has been misapplied for the past 60 years. In this Critical Issues Forum, Michael Kitces argued that markets are not efficient, but they are adaptive - so appropriate use of MPT requires forward-looking projections. This requires more work to apply effectively, but can lead to portfolios that are more efficient and give better risk/return trade-offs.

The tectonic plates of the world economy are shifting. This Critical Issues Forum argued that Europe is not just in a financial crisis, but also a social, political and demographic decline. Will the Euro break up? Can Asia save us?

Have your 2012 revenue resolutions gone by the wayside? If so, the year is far from over - consider picking one of three simple strategies identified in a recent research study which differentiated financial planning firms that outperform...

Nearly a quarter of your clients do invest for the thrill of it, according to FinaMetrica’s sample of more than 500,000 investors. What that means for advisers?

Two retail fund analysts have been awarded scholarships by Blackrock Investment Management and PortfolioConstruction Forum to attend the prestigious CIMA Program...

The prevailing wisdom is that tensions with Iran have caused oil prices to rise recently. But there's
a much greater long-term threat shaping investment opportunities...

Politics are messy. Reforms have stalled. The economy is slowing. Some question whether India's economic miracle is over.

FMA to publish adviser compliance results, notes it is watching fees vs commission issues; Investors will pay $770 for comprehensive financial advice; Financial Planning Standards Board seeks board nominations; Weldon's top 10 for the next 10 years for growing NZ's economy; Macquarie to recruit 30+ financial advisers...

The Japanese house price experience of the past two decades remains a real possibility for many countries including Australia...

In this second part of our two-part feature on adapting to the new regulatory reality, we look at what to tell clients about investing, how pedantic advisers need to be with record keeping, and what the Financial Markets Authority is doing to educate consumers.

The biggest myth that investors believe about China is that its economy is primarily driven by exports. Two charts debunk this misconception...

How ironic that the former safe havens of bonds and income-oriented equities now stand accused of being 'crowded trades' - the new bubbles...

PortfolioConstruction Forum asked the fund research houses - should gold be a part of most investors’ portfolios?

The average active Australian equity manager aims to deliver 3% to 4% alpha per year - so it's quite out of the ordinary for a manager to target 8% alpha pa...

Regulation has forever changed the way advisers and their businesses operate - but has it changed the marketplace for advice? In the first of this two-part feature, financialalert spoke with several practices about how they've adapted to the new reality, what effects regulation has had on their bottom line, and where clients are coming from these days...