Potential returns on traditional assets are falling and the search is on for different sources of attractive returns. The Australian Asset Backed Loans asset class deserves a place in many portfolios.

There is no silver bullet to portfolio implementation. Both managed funds and managed accounts can provide a more streamlined and sophisticated portfolio implementation solution – and both have pros and cons.

This week in Forum Fodder: More top rated presentations from Strategies Conference 2018! Matt Williams & Emma Goodsell - Owner-managed companies are the backbone of a good portfolio; Nikki Thomas - Capturing earnings upgrades leads to outperformance; Philipp Hofflin - Valuation mistakes will prove very costly in a post QE world; Stephen Fitzgerald - Impact investing is the way of the future for fixed income; plus Susan David, David Sanger, Chris Berg and more...

This week in Forum Fodder - The top 10 rated presentations from Strategies Conference 2018!

Strategies Conference 2018 (22/23 August 2018) has been assessed and accredited by Portfolio Construction Forum for Forum CE hours. Delegates must confirm their attendance in order to receive CE acceditation.

Now in its 12th year, the annual IMR Conference presents investment management research. It brings together the full spectrum of investment management analysts - academic faculty from leading university business schools, public sector members, central bankers, professional investors, consultants and experienced practitioners and advocates.

There are many lessons to be learned as we reflect on the 2008 crisis, but the most important is that the challenge was – and remains – political, not economic. Secular stagnation was just an excuse for flawed economic policies.

This week in Forum Fodder: Nouriel Roubini - The makings of a 2020 financial crisis; Tassos Stassopoulos - Culture not companies dictate investment trends; Graham Rich - the Forum’s submission to FASEA on CPD; Ron Bird - Small portfolios are beautiful; Gopi Karunakaran - Bonds no longer a reliable risk diversifier.

As we mark the decennial of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, there are still ongoing debates about the causes and consequences of the GFC. By 2020, conditions will be ripe for a new financial crisis.

The Conexus Group Insurance Summit (28 August 2018) has been assessed and accredited by Portfolio Construction Forum for Forum CE hours. Delegates must confirm their attendance in order to receive CE acceditation.

This week in Forum Fodder: Graham Rich - FASEA fails on CPD; Amin Rajan - Crystal balls; Rudi Minbatiwala - Future-proof portfolios achievable; Tony Crescenzi - Guard against pessimism; Stephen Anness - Electric cars not game changing.

The fallacy that an inverted yield curve "predicts" the onset of recessions is alive and well. Many investors believe the curve will invert in 2019, precipitating a recession. But a flattening of the yield curve need not imply a recession.

In the cyber world today, we are somewhere around World War I. There are more than 30 nations with effective cyber forces. Practitioners need to understand the threat cyber weapons pose to markets and investments.

A disciplined, scenarios-based approach to determining your views on the outlook for markets and the asset allocation implications can help future-proof portfolios. This hypothetical Investment Committee meeting considers the asset allocation implications of three scenarios.

The Australian (and global economy) is facing decades of significant technological change that will reshape how we work, where we work, and how we relate to each other economically and politically.

Harry Markowitz called diversification "the only free lunch in finance". But it can’t be taken for granted as not all diversification is good. The answer will often lie with good rules of thumb.

Investors should treat foreign currency as an asset class in its own right, considering both short- and long-term currency risks, as well as where the best return opportunities lie.

Unconstrained strategies can be supportive in both maximising portfolio returns and reducing risk but a clear philosophy and framework for apportioning risk in unconstrained portfolios is key.

Investors need to entirely rethink their processes, assumptions and research approach, to focus on the cultures of consumers in different markets. Only by thinking like new brands themselves, can investors identify and invest in the next powerful emerging trend.

The familiar phrase “Past performance is not indicative of future performance” is so common we almost ignore it, but it goes to the heart of how to view and manage risk and return to future-proof portfolios.