In our first Fodder for the year, Jonathan Pain makes the case that 2017 is a year politics really matters to investing, while Mohamed El-Erian is on the same wave length. Dr Bob Gay gives his unique insider's view of what will cause the US Fed to raise rates, when and by how much. Michael Kitces explains how to properly integrate two dimensions of risk profiling into portfolios (don't use a simplistic questionnaire!). Lastly, our own Will Jackson reports on the hot topics debated by the group of 10 senior fund analysts on our Research Roundtable International program.

The stage is set for an inevitable tightening in monetary conditions. The only questions are how soon, how much and with what consequences.

Beware using risk tolerance assessment tools that blend risk tolerance and risk capacity into a single result. The two need to be measured separately.

America is living through a kind of Trumpian Genesis - seven days of high-speed political creation. No one yet knows how all this will pan out.

Senior secured loans offer a combination of strong current income with relatively low volatility given their defensive position in the capital structure and short duration.

Like all presidents, Trump will be judged by how far he makes good on his pledges. It is important to distinguish between the real and the imaginary obstacles Trump faces.

How often should a portfolio be rebalanced? Rather than the conventional wisdom of rebalancing at fixed time intervals, a superior methodology is tolerance band rebalancing.

While rebalancing may be helpful as a risk management strategy, it may actually reduce long-term returns. But that isn't a reason to avoid it.

We've been drilled that rebalancing in portfolios results in improved returns and/or reduced risk. But the benefits of rebalancing are far smaller than we’ve been led to believe.

The Forum team recently said a sad goodbye to our beloved sausage dog, Schnitzel von Krumm. He was well known to those who attended our live programs or visited our office over the past decade. The team has put together this montage of a few memories...

Given increasing longevity, it's important that retirees not ignore strategies that can generate long-term capital growth. In short, retirees need to re-examine the role of equities in their portfolio.

Hard on the heels of last week's focus on values and investing - including the role of whistleblowers and the media - this week, Dom McCormick writes about the "real" IOOF "scandal", Dr Woody Brock dispels three myths and half-truths about the behavior of bond prices, The Forum's Will Jackson summarises geopolitical forecaster George Friedman's keynote address at the recent ASFA Conference, Michael Kitces's report on why retirees' may not need to save as much, and The Carlyle Group's Jason Thomas warns of the consequences to portfolios of central banks' "Mae West approach" to monetary policy.

Hard on the heels of last week's focus on values and investing - including the role of whistleblowers and the media - this week, Dom McCormick writes about the "real" IOOF "scandal", Dr Woody Brock dispels three myths and half-truths about the behavior of bond prices, The Forum's Will Jackson summarises geopolitical forecaster George Friedman's keynote address at the recent ASFA Conference, Michael Kitces's report on why retirees' may not need to save as much, and The Carlyle Group's Jason Thomas warns of the consequences to portfolios of central banks' "Mae West approach" to monetary policy.

Mid this year, ASIC concluded its enquiry into allegations of wrongdoing and criminal behaviour at IOOF, related mainly to the research team and its then head. The real "scandal" turned out to be about reckless and biased elements of the media (and politicians).

Many worry that "the new normal" may be over, that the peak of the bond market has been reached, and so forth. We agree in part with this new view and offer some pointers to help navigate the bond market shoals ahead.

A growing body of research on the actual spending habits of retirees finds spending declines over time, implying retirees may not need to be saving as much to retire.

This week's Fodder includes a new Resources Kit on the topic of values and investing, Dom McCormick on the post-Trump market rally, Harvard Professor Carmen Reinhart explains why investors are already voting with their feet in advance of the upcoming popular referendum in Italy, and Stephen Hayes outlines what investors should do in the face of overinflated real asset valuations.

This week's Fodder includes a new Resources Kit on the topic of values and investing, Dom McCormick on the post-Trump market rally, Harvard Professor Carmen Reinhart explains why investors are already voting with their feet in advance of the upcoming popular referendum in Italy, and Stephen Hayes outlines what investors should do in the face of overinflated real asset valuations.

Following the victory of the Leave campaign in the UK Brexit referendum and of Donald Trump in the US election, focus has shifted to the upcoming referendum in Italy. There is a disquieting real-time poll of investor sentiment.

Does our character manifest itself in our investing decisions? This Resources Kit presents 10 key research papers, presentations and opinion pieces around what determines values, how values impact ethics and behaviour, and the relationship to trust.