21 results found

Since the start of the Aussie stock market fall of recent weeks, the question being promoted in the popular media is whether or not this represents a signal to sell stocks. It's refreshing then to see yesterday's report from broker Bell Potter that analyses the latest market downturn in the context of the last 25 years and concludes that this fall is typical of those that follow US Fed Reserve interest rate hikes and that, given the surrounding signs of economic strength, now may even be a time to buy Aussie stocks!

Following on from the successful offerings of Nexus 1, 2 and 3 by Deutsche Bank, Nexus 4 - the first foray into a managed CDO by Nexus - has recently announced that it has suffered an event of default in its income portfolio...

Continuing his spate of speeches on important subjects, US Fed Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke has delivered one of the most influential statements about US housing – and the US economy - in recent times...

To date, most CDOs issued in Australia have given exposure to underlying credits that are rated above investment grade. Sometimes a small component of selected names which are just below investment grade are included. This will increasingly come under pressure in the search for yield...

Watching the market react to economic data is really about watching the human beings that constitute the market react with fear and optimism to normally mixed messages. 2006 is shaping up to be the year of volatility...

A week ago, we updated you on what the world is doing with gold, and reported predictions of gold reaching $US500/oz by Christmas. In fact, it's happened much sooner...

In a move that can only be taken as a massive victory for hedge funds and their major promoters, the global investment banks, the Australian Stock Exchange has announced changes to the rules requiring disclosure of the identity of brokers behind buy and sell transactions...

Advisers that turned up to last week's FPA Conference on the Gold Coast were treated to a debate that is at the leading edge of a massive turning point in the investment management industry...

Emerging markets have been out of favour with mainstream investors since the series of financial shocks in the late 1990s that culminated with the default by Russia on its sovereign bonds in 1997. So what has changed since then, to bring emerging market debt back into favour (with a number of new products being released that provide exposure to emerging market debt)?

With the Aussie stock market at or near record highs over the last few months, investors are increasingly confused about what type of equity portfolios they should be designing for their clients. Defensive stocks have made way for a profound switch to cyclicals (with resource stocks predominant). But as global inflation worries raise questions about the longevity and depth of the resource boom, style is again becoming a key direct investing issue...

As we took the Global Energy and Commodities Investing Forum around the country, one of the hot discussion points was total return investing and portfolio construction...

Last week, Delphi Corp, one of the key players in the US auto parts industry, defaulted on its bond payment obligations. The loss from Delphi has adversely impacted at least two CDOs known to Australian investors: Deutsche Bank's Nexus 3 and Macquarie's Generator Income Notes...

Infrastructure funds develop and hold infrastructure assets - which are increasingly becoming available for private sector ownership as Governments privatise public sector assets as part of budget deficit reduction programs...

One of the most frequent questions we're asked by advisers considering an IPO for a new listed product is "Will this product list at a discount?" The question applies to ordinary shares as well as listed alternative assets, and listed structured products. No doubt, the concern stems from the rash of listed investment companies (LICs) listed at the end of 2003, some of which continue to trade at a discount to their net asset value today...

As the great Australian icon Norman May used to say, the economic news this week is all about "Gold, Gold, Gold". Sure, Nugget May was talking about our Aussie Olympic athletes, but in the context of the market there's definitely some important guidance here for Aussie investors...

Private equity offers the promise of occasional outstanding returns – but with the significant risk that some private equity investments will end with no return. To encourage investment, there are a range of significant tax concessions available for investors accessing private equity through Pooled Development Funds (PDFs)…

The global growth story may well be a vital contributor to client’s wealth – and your practice – for the rest of 2005 and into 2006…

A common question from the many advisers who implement direct equities through model equity portfolios is how to justify putting a client into the underlying shares which may have risen steeply since the inception of the portfolio, or since its last rebalance…

Hybrids have been successfully issued since the early 1990’s, however, due to recent accounting changes, these types of products are no longer being issued. Their replacement, the Step Up Preference Share, has a problematic investment profile with high levels of equity risk, and is potentially unsuitable for inclusion in the fixed interest portfolio…

What is an ETF, what are the key performance and cost differentiators compared to actively managed equity funds, and how can they be integrated into a portfolio?