Brace for more market volatility in 2023, and orient portfolios to resilient fixed income and equity securities, and hedge fund and infrastructure managers.

Nine months ago, we were told that the world would be in recession today. This did not quite happen. Now we are assured that 2023 will see a global recession, even in the US.

While equities do outperform in the long-term, the price we pay are the bear markets which periodically come along to test our staying power. This Spotlight is a guide to help investors survive bear markets.

2022 has been a horrible year for investors. Usually when markets are down 20%, you might feel that the worst of the pain has passed. That's unequivocally wrong. The most dangerous phase of markets is yet to come.

The first of these two papers provides a comprehensive review of the several thousand papers written on ESG investing and investment performance, while the second looks at downside risk reduction.

After four decades of supercharged growth in residential property prices, we are finally seeing some of the froth come out of this market. This Spotlight argues that we are entering a very different environment for residential property prices.

With ever greater participation in superannuation, the accumulated sum held those entering retirement is often significant. But do older people have the cognitive ability and financial acumen to invest effectively?

Despite widespread criticism of the efficient markets hypothesis, development of comparably broad alternatives has been lacking. One promising direction is the adaptive markets hypothesis which seeks apply the concepts and methods of ecology and evolutionary biology to financial market dynamics.

The latest national census reveals that Australia is a nation determined to change direction. This will re-shape Australia's economic and cultural landscape and influence the way that practitioners build multi-asset portfolios capable of meeting the long-term financial goals of Australians.

With geopolitical tensions on the rise, portfolio construction practitioners need a framework for making sense of the cacophony of geopolitical risks with the eye towards generating investment-relevant insights.

The future ain't what it used to be – that's just noise. Listed Global REITs provide investors with a competitive return profile and diversification from equities, a compelling reason for allocations in portfolios.

The future ain't what it used to be, so capital allocators should look beyond arbitrary benchmarks and combine a thematic universe with the structural benefits of small cap investing.

Practitioners must remain open-minded and continuously challenge their portfolio construction beliefs, techniques and tools. This session addressed three contemporary portfolio construction issues: We must use a risk-based framework for portfolio design; The value rotation has just begun; and, ESG ratings undervalue climate solutions…

The case for investment-grade corporate bonds replacing traditional sovereigns as a core allocation is strengthening with the income opportunity of this sub-asset class being the brightest it's been in years.

The regime has changed. We know from experience that diversified portfolios are robust in a disinflationary world. But some portfolios may not be so robust in an inflationary world. The future is definitely not what it used to be.

If the question is how to achieve an attractive risk-adjusted return through all economic environments, then private debt is the answer. The future ain’t what it used to be - except for private debt.

There is increasing traction for the idea that, to succeed in today's complex, uncertain world of investing, practitioners must embrace alternative investment strategies. But are they all they're made out to be?

Investors began 2022 in bullish form however rising inflation concerns combined with Russia's invasion of Ukraine soon soured the mood. More than ever, practitioners need to understand the key secular and structural forces impacting on markets and the portfolio construction implications.

The seismic shift in economic, social and political themes means the future ain't what it used to be – rendering the 60/40 portfolio inadequate.

Investing and engaging for change, committing to tackling the climate-related risks that threaten the future of the planet is our duty or our future ain't what it used to be!

Private equity as an asset class is one of the longest-term strategies. Setting up a solid top-down framework is key to successful private equity portfolio construction.

In this third step of our hypothetical Investment Committee meeting, a diverse panel of asset class experts debates the implications of the three economic scenarios outlined in the Economic Scenarios Roundtable for medium-term (three years) asset class returns.

Our asset allocation consultants explain the asset allocation implications of the three Economic Scenarios and blended portfolio, and debate how best to implement the portfolio.

Infrastructure's unique inflation hedge characteristics protect companies and investors while allowing a tailwind of asset base growth to drive long-term total returns.

Decarbonisation of the economy is the most important thematic of the next 30 years. The future ain't what it used to be! Investors can achieve net-zero portfolios without compromising returns or increasing risk by using "green shorts".

Sustainable investing is booming - and sustainable investors need to align their strategies with sustainable development ambitions. The Sustainable Development Goals provide a valuable blueprint.

Portfolio construction requires precarious navigation in an ever-changing world. Only when we adapt our skillsets and reframe our perspectives can we understand why things are happening and capture upcoming opportunities.

Established in 2002, Strategies Conference has earned a reputation as THE portfolio construction strategies conference of the year. Back in 2020, Strategies Conference explored the idea that we were entering "a whole new world" due to Covid-19, and debated what that meant for building quality investor portfolios. Two years on, more major crises have unfolded, and the new global regime is coming into sharper focus. Times have changed! Strategies Conference 2022 will challenge and refresh your portfolio construction thinking, as we debate investment strategies to help you build better quality investor portfolios given the future ain't what it used to be!

The past 18 months has seen the biggest bond bear market in almost 50 years. In this Spotlight, we look at why bond prices have fallen so much, how this bear market compares with others, and what returns and volatility we are likely to see going ahead.

The next 10 years are likely to be dramatically different than the last 10 years, and investors will need allocations to alternative investments in this challenging environment.

Prolonged exposure to high volatility causes investors to subsequently underestimate volatility (and vice versa), leading to predictability in stock returns - and the ability to construct a trading strategy that exploits the effect.

Jonathan Pain, Author and Publisher of The Pain Report, is a regular key note presenter at Portfolio Construction Forum's continuing education programs. Over the years, he has debuted new investment theses and challenged delegates about how to build better quality investor portfolios...

Since I addressed Markets Summit 2022 back on 23 February, arguing "The days of abnormal monetary policy are over", Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered a food and energy crisis while declining consumer sentiment and Chinese lockdowns provide headwinds to growth.

Since I addressed Markets Summit 2022 back on 23 February, arguing it was time for a new investing playbook, there has been a major repricing in financial assets. The adjustment has further to run.

Established in 2007, Portfolio Construction Forum Research Symposium explores contemporary investment research issues relevant to Practitioners who design, build and/or manage multi-asset, multi-manager portfolios. Presented in June and November each year, the program features academics from leading university business schools, independent consultants, and portfolio construction practitioners.

With stock market valuations close to record highs, and interest rates beginning to rise from all-time lows, traditional portfolios are likely to disappoint in the years ahead.

For many decades, the default investment portfolio was a 60/40 split – this was seen as the ideal blend of growth and defensive investments for most investors most of the time. Will it continue to deliver in a high inflation, high interest rate environment?

Despite astonishingly good returns during their limited history, there are too many uncertainties around crypto-currencies to consider them an investable asset.

Investing over the next several years is going to be unlike anything we've experienced in decades. It's time to go back to the drawing board to reassess the best approach to both defence and offence in a more volatile, changing market.

In a world of rising yields, fixed income investors must know that what's worked in the past might not work going forward. A braver and broader approach is required, by going on the offensive in fixed income.

Global microcaps offer investors an unparalleled opportunity to invest in economic or market recoveries. Global microcaps' asymmetry around large market events provides investors with a powerful offence that is a great portfolio defence.

A new market regime demands a change to the art of portfolio construction. The return of inflation volatility represents the most challenging and significant paradigm shift in decades.

Our diverse panel of experts debated which of the high conviction propositions they heard during Markets Summit 2022 resonated most strongly, and which they disagreed with most - and the portfolio construction implications.

The past half-century brought about a world that's globalised, centralised, and stratified. Now, the pendulum is swinging the other way. Everywhere, a new economic order is taking shape as we enter an era of more inclusive and sustainable localisation, bringing wealth back home. As we shift to a bipolar or tripolar world, practitioners must understand the implications for different asset classes, sectors and geographies.

As governments become accustomed to spending vast sums of money and workers regain their bargaining power, the short-term inflationary pressures attributed to Covid-19 will bleed into a longer period of higher inflation.

Fiscal stimulus will help boost US growth to its strongest levels in decades in 2022 and European economies are poised to rebound. However, inflationary pressures will persist. Portfolios will need assets that provide downside protection, as well as strategies to capitalise on the growth ahead.