In Fodder this week: the first of a series of online "Philosophy Lectures". Linda Jakobson explains why China's ambitions to dominate the region will be thwarted. Jim O'Neill discusses oil prices. Charles Sampford, Jack Gray and Clare Payne weigh in on values and investing, and Charles Hamieh debunks the myths around the risk of investing in EM infrastructure.

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.

What influence do personal values have on our behaviour, as individuals? And how do those values interact with professional standards and ethics?

In Fodder this week: Why sovereign debt crises are now rarer than history would suggest; Dr Woody Brock clears up confusion around the Phillips Curve; behavioural biases creating opportunities to generate alpha; sustainability factors and investment outcomes; and a review of two academic papers on our personal values and professional ethics.

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.

In this week's Forum Fodder: Hausmann on another quiet economics revolution; Kitces on the optimal “shape” of retirement planning; Bird on new research on constructing long-term portfolios; a backgrounder on impact investing; and managing carbon exposure in equity portfolios

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.

Having built some satisfaction that their retirement savings balance is sufficient, clients ask "How much can I afford to spend?"

Fodder kicks off with Tim Farrelly taking aim at the assertion that Australian banks have a huge vulnerability to a downturn in the residential property market. Yale's Stephen Roach then serves central banks a bouquet (for getting on with normalisation) and brickbat (for the time they're planning to take). Ellerston Capital's Brett Gillespie explains how not to lose money while QE winds down. Michael Furey asks whether you know the impacts of the risk characteristics of your multi-manager portfolios, and explains how to guard against overdiversification. And finally, we feature the top 10-rated Strategies Conference presentation by Fidelity International's Kate Howitt on the six characteristics of world class companies.

Fodder begins with a Forum Backgrounder on the interplay of organisation culture on investment performance and the potentially significant implications for active investment managers. Then, 2013 Nobel laureate Professor Robert Shiller explains why this year’s winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Richard Thaler, is a controversial choice (but one he welcomes). Professor Ron Bird reviews two recent papers exploring new ground on two long-established investment strategies – portfolio insurance and momentum investing. We feature the recent Strategies Conference presentation by Platinum’s Andrew Clifford on the dangers of index obsession. And we end with Invesco’s Stephen Anness on why truly contrarian investors focus on valuations.

Portfolio insurance - invented over 40 years ago - has experienced the renaissance that it very much deserves. Trend (momentum) investing dates back over 40 years, too - the success of which is traced back in this paper to over 100 years.

Fodder kicks off with Tim Farrelly taking aim at the assertion that Australian banks have a huge vulnerability to a downturn in the residential property market. Yale's Stephen Roach then serves central banks a bouquet (for getting on with normalisation) and brickbat (for the time they're planning to take). Ellerston Capital's Brett Gillespie explains how not to lose money while QE winds down. Michael Furey asks whether you know the impacts of the risk characteristics of your multi-manager portfolios, and explains how to guard against overdiversification. And finally, we feature the top 10-rated Strategies Conference presentation by Fidelity International's Kate Howitt on the six characteristics of world class companies.