“It is such a privilege to serve on the Board of Guide Dogs Victoria. The life changing work they do with children and adults with low vision or blindness is inspirational.” Bruce says. “ If you are looking to leave a legacy that will support people to become independent and contribute to our nation, Guide Dogs ticks all the boxes for me in efficiency and innovation. Their puppies are pretty awesome too!”

If you would like to donate to the Guide Dogs ‘Future is in Sight’ Capital Appeal and be part of the next chapter in their history, please contact Evan Gordon, General Manager Fundraising at Evang@guidedogsvictoria.com.au or visit Guide Dogs Victoria.

As investors we are faced with uncertain outcomes, however, we invest with the view that over the long term our choices will be rewarded. The graphic below illustrates the accumulative value of $10,000 invested across a range of asset classes from 2009 to 2019. The return of any investment should be commensurate of the risk associated with it and for the most part, the graphic below supports this. The returns for low-risk assets such as Cash and Fixed Income have been relatively stable whereas returns from Equity Markets have been much more variable.

There were mixed results for markets in December as markets locally took a dive whilst globally, they powered ahead continuing their positive momentum. This capped off a positive year for equity markets with many indices posting impressive returns for the year.

In line with many of the market summaries this year, movements in markets for November were largely inspired by combat associated with the ongoing trade dispute between the US and China.

It has been a few months in waiting but November did bring back a resurgence in my favourite genre of Trump tweets, which only occur when markets reach all time highs. We saw this a number of times throughout the month as markets ventured into uncharted territory

Following a positive September, investment markets were mixed in October with US, Japanese and Chinese indices performing well, however markets locally couldn’t mirror the positive performance.

What are the ramifications for Australian investors after the three RBA interest rate reductions this year?

Managing Director Peter Leggett shares a spring time update after his visit to Singapore for the JP Morgan Global Investment Research Summit.

Short selling or “going short” is a term widely thrown around in finance by investors, fund managers and advisers. Although more complicated than your typical buy and hold strategy, a short enables an investor to profit off the decline of the price of a share or security. Simply, this works by the short seller borrowing shares from a lender then immediately selling them at what they believe is a high price. Then, when the investor is due to return the shares to the lender, they purchase them back, hopefully at a lower price, and keep the difference. In the past, these arrangements were complicated to set up but a rise in the popularity of derivatives such as Contract for Difference (CFDs) has made shorting increasingly accessible to everyday investors.

The major Investment markets rebounded in September following a negative August. In line with the majority of the updates this year, investor confidence grew following some positive developments in the trade war. 

Last month we discussed the subscription-based model and explained why so many companies from various industries are flocking towards this model. We couldn’t leave this topic without a further exploration around the impact these services are having on the music & recording industry.

Investment markets declined in August and trade tensions continue to have a big impact on investor confidence. We also saw world central banks offer support to economies in an attempt to address the ongoing economic uncertainty.

A screening policy that systematically excludes specific industries, sectors, companies, regions, practices from a portfolio that are misaligned with the responsible investment goals. This approach is also referred to by some specialist asset managers as ethical screening.

It's that time of the month again, Netflix has just charged you another $13.99 for accessing their library of films and shows because you’ve forgotten to cancel that subscription you activated 13 months ago. Or maybe you use Stan, Fetch, Amazon Prime or possibly you’re hanging out for the release of Disney+. Unless you’ve been off the grid for the last few years you may have noticed almost anything and everything is moving towards a subscription model. Now you can access all the cloud storage you’ll ever need or have your shaving blades delivered to your door for just a small, convenient monthly payment. But what’s the big deal? Why are so many companies transitioning towards this model? 

Markets had a relatively strong July with most of the major indices returning positive results. Positive returns were on the back of improved sentiment towards global trade negotiations, which was inevitably thrown out of the window in early August.

Growth and value are two fundamental styles of stock-picking that for years have faced off in a contest for supremacy. To put it simply, growth investors seek to invest in companies that have been posting above-average earnings growth, while value investors look for stocks that appear to be out of favour and have been mispriced by the market. While in combination the two styles are very much complementary, of late the plaudits have all gone in favour of the growth investors. One contributing factor could be the rapid rise in popularity of passive investment and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Markets responded well in June following a disappointing May. Performance was largely impacted by central banks continuing to weaken their tightening stance, whilst trade tensions appeared to ease following the G20 summit held in late June.

Equity markets have performed very well so far in 2019. What were some of the key drivers of global market growth?

Australian indices have outperformed international equities in 2019. What factors have led to growth within the Australian market?

What catalysts do you see driving markets in the remainder of the year?

As we pass the winter solstice, things are starting to look up. The days are getting longer, the weather slowly warmer and hopefully our financial position stronger. This month in Strategy Talk we explore why it just got harder to get a home loan, how household debt can be all-consuming, the great financial apps for your phone and the rarely considered topic of social media after death…