In 2017, we experienced a relatively benign year for investors with diversified portfolios. Returns were solid, with the typical Balanced super fund returning about 10% and volatility was low. So coming into 2018 confidence was high. But what transpired was an increase in volatility and in October and November, a strong correction in share prices
January 2017 was perhaps more remarkable for its political headlines than for excitement in investment markets. Newly elected U.S. President, Donald Trump wasted no time in beginning his reform agenda after his inauguration on January 20, almost immediately imposing immigration restrictions and withdrawing the United States from the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership. Europe Equity markets picked
2016 Review: some surprising events but ok overall 2016 will undoubtedly be remembered as a year of unexpected outcomes, particularly in a political context. The sudden rise of “populist politics” delivered a number of surprising vote outcomes around the world including the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States and
Despite being consistently written off as having little or no chance of defeating his opponent, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump won the recent US Presidential Election and will succeed Barack Obama in late January 2017 to become the 45th President of the United States. In this article, we take a look at what impact Trump’s presidency
When do banks report their profits? Companies report their annual profits soon after their financial year end. The CBA has a 30 June year end and has therefore already reported their results back in August. The other 3 major banks (Westpac, ANZ and NAB) all have a 30 September year end and report their results
We are currently in the midst of the mid-year Australian company reporting season. Listed companies with a 30 June year end date must report their profit results to the market by the end of August 2016. Our expectations for this profit season are as follows: Banks The major banks have all reported now, and as
It has been an interesting month since Britain unexpectedly voted to leave the European Union (EU). In this newsletter, we discuss some of the expected implications of this significant event on world investment markets. Markets, particularly in the UK and Europe, fell sharply immediately after the result of the vote became clear. We believe that
Investment markets in the first half of the 2016 calendar year have been characterised by high levels of volatility. It is normal for markets to experience such ups and downs in the context of sustained global economic and political uncertainty. This is particularly so in the lead up to significant events. Historically, markets have tended
Market analysts often talk about bull markets (i.e. when share prices are rising strongly) and bear markets (i.e. when share prices are falling, and more importantly, when they’re at risk of falling even further). It may come as no surprise that since the end of the Global Financial Crisis (March 2009) our market has typically
We have experienced some difficult investment market conditions over the last 12 months. Globally, the key issues which have impacted markets are slowing growth and the need for low official interest rates to stimulate economies. Australian banks performed very well over the period of March 2009 to March 2015, however have pulled back significantly over
