It is the time of the year when those in the forecasting business like to lay out our expectations for the coming year. Here are mine...

Income layering is a goals-based approach to building an investment portfolio that is likely to be beneficial to a wide range of retirees - especially those worried about how to sustain spending in the later stages of retirement.

CIMA Central helps you meet your obligation to complete and report a minimum of 40 hours of CE credit (including two ethics hours) every two years to maintain your CIMA certification.

You know it's time to worry when the conservative Republican chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations warns openly that Trump could start World War III.

The Conexus Financial Research Forum 2017 (6 Dec 2017) has been assessed and accredited by Portfolio Construction Forum for Forum CE hours. Delegates must confirm their attendance in order to receive CE acceditation.

Plenty of anecdotes suggest that baby boomers are spending their savings and will leave nothing for the next generation. Looking at the actual data, this is questionable.

The world has changed dramatically over the past three decades, but the analytical tools underpinning monetary policy haven't. The challenge is to develop new tools to fit the new world order.

In the last decade, investor interest in long-horizon outcomes was rare and when it prevailed, it was severely tested by events. The long-term was viewed as opaque and uncertain. It's amazing how attitudes change when new opportunities emerge.

The return of wage growth across the industralised world has significant implications for markets and central bank policy - and spells the end of the 30-year rally in bonds.

It is tempting to ask whether markets have entered a period of "irrational exuberance" and are heading for a fall. The answer is probably no.

While some still firmly believe that values and ethics have no part to play in investing, the tide is turning. Values play a vital role in investment and business decisions - and, increasingly, investors care about more than just financial returns.

The IMCA Seminar 8 2017 (22 November 2017) has been assessed and accredited by Portfolio Construction Forum for Forum CE hours. Delegates must confirm their attendance in order to receive CE acceditation.

For the past two centuries, a "double bust" (in commodities and capital flows) has led to a spike in sovereign defaults. Yet they have risen only modestly since the peak in commodity prices and global capital flows around 2011.

During the past three months, a salient topic of debate has been whether the so-called Phillips Curve is relevant in today's disinflationary environment. The debate is important to investors.

The Conexus Fiduciary Investors Symposium (13-15 Nov 2017) has been assessed and accredited by Portfolio Construction Forum for Forum CE hours. Delegates must confirm their attendance in order to receive CE acceditation.

A recent research paper that likens the three main retirement planning approaches to shapes provides an interesting way to think about three different retirement planning approaches. In the end, the best option may incorporate all three.

The AGBA Conference 2017 (8-9 Nov 2017) has been assessed and accredited by Portfolio Construction Forum for Forum CE hours. Delegates must confirm their attendance in order to receive CE acceditation.

A recent paper that addresses one of the most pressing issues facing the financial community - how to construct long-term investment portfolios to best fit the needs of those saving for retirement - questions the appropriateness of many commonly used techniques.

With the appointment of Jerome Powell as the next Chair of the United States Federal Reserve Board, Donald Trump has made perhaps the most important single decision of his presidency.

The 2017 mid-year SPIVA report on fund manager performance came out recently. And, while we can expect to see the media dwell on the negatives, there are some big positives in the data.