In recent years it seems that market sentiment is shifting more rapidly than ever. We saw this earlier this year when the US Federal Reserve flipped on its monetary stance from a tightening stance to a “let’s take pause and see how things pan out” position. In August we saw the yield curve invert meaning […]
One of the topics asset allocators are grappling with at the moment is whether asset class valuations are expensive or not. Whether you are an active asset allocator, or an active bottom-up stock picker, valuation will most likely be at the core or at least form part of your analysis when making a decision to […]
August was a weak month for equity markets with continued concerns over trade tensions between the US and China. While equities sold off bonds, ‘bond proxy’ assets such as property generated positive returns. For the year to the end of August Australian bonds, as represented by the Bloomberg AusBond Composite 0+ Yr Index, returned an […]
With an increasing focus in the market on how we are all building our client portfolios, it is incredibly important to have a strong and defendable investment framework in place. This investment framework consists of, but is not limited to, how we structure our investment committee, what our APL looks like, and where we get […]
One of the continual challenges in running an investment committee is ensuring that it operates effectively and facilitates sound decision making. There are several ingredients that can assist in this process, but the most fundamental are the governance structures you have in place. At a minimum your investment committee should be governed by a charter […]
Bonds have been unrelenting in 2019, rising in stark defiance of investors who called a fade to the rally in late 2018, when the US Fed appeared determined to hike rates. This insatiable appetite for bonds has seen yields plummet to record lows in several markets, while the quantum of negative-yielding debt is climbing ever […]
Lonsec has been working with financial advice firms for over 20 years and during this time we’ve observed a wide range of investment committee structures. The thing that stands out for us is the clear link between high-functioning investment committees and investment outcomes, with people and processes being the most essential elements financial advisers and […]
It’s a challenging time for asset allocators in the current environment, which has seen asset prices and market sentiment shift quickly on the back of a single tweet. Markets in July were generally strong across most assets, but August has seen a re-emergence of trade tensions between the US and China. More importantly we have […]
The ECB’s announcement of further rate cuts was the last thing Europe’s banking sector wanted to hear. Since the depths of the eurozone crisis in 2009 and the sovereign and banking crises that followed, Europe’s banks have struggled to get back onto the right footing. Despite the introduction of new capital requirements and rules to […]
Any value manager will tell you that the past 10 years has been a challenging period. Not only have growth shares outperformed, but the dispersion in price performance between the two styles is currently the widest it’s been over this period. Looking at the performance of the MSCI value and growth indices (see chart below), […]
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