The case to cut rates in Australia has been building for some time, with broad-based weakness in housing activity, sharp falls in house prices, the ongoing issues with meeting RBA inflation targets – and more recently, a rise in the unemployment rate. As widely expected by markets, Governor Phillip ... Read more
Market Malaise —by Aziz Meherali CFP
Give the late downturn last night in the US and, at the time of writing this message our markets are down about 2%, I thought it timely to re-iterate some longer term investment fundamentals. Economically, we are clearly in the “late cycle”. Unemployment rates are falling all over the world and ... Read more
Portfolio Construction Summit Summary —Aziz Meherali CFP, Principal of Elixir Private Wealth
I attended the Portfolio Construction Summit on Tuesday this week. As usual, the line-up of presenters and speakers was extraordinary and always enlightening. I offer a brief summary of some of the take-outs from the day: The overall consensus view (taking a long-term 3 to 5 year approach) ... Read more
DIGITAL Aussie Dollar — Could be a Reality of the Near Future!
Tony Richards, the central bank's head of payments policy, said central banks, including the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada, and the Peoples Bank of China, are exploring digital versions of their national currency. They believe that digital dollars will one day circulate in parallel with old ... Read more
Recent Market Turmoil
The recent movements in stock markets around the Globe (since Friday night in the US) have given us much cause for concern. Stock markets have continued to trade down while bond prices have lifted following heightened fears of a growth slowdown in China. The correction started after China ... Read more
Market Volatility — An Insight from one of China’s largest fund managers
Dear Esteemed Clients, You might recall that I had written in our Elixir Private Wealth newsletter (for clients only) about an Ultra High Net-worth Family Office Conference I was invited to in Macau about 2 years ago. We were the only Australian Financial Planning Firm to be invited (I suspect on ... Read more
“What I leaned in China” by Mark Sowerby of Blue Sky Alternative Investments
This is an excerpt from the April Blue Sky Newsletter written by Mark Sowerby that I thought was worth sharing:- Many Chinese have made good money over the last 10-15 years as the Chinese economy boomed. Many of them have saved substantial amounts of money and have been spooked by the ... Read more
Searching for yield: are hybrids the solution?
Thursday, February 12th, 2015 (Clime Asset Management) A good explanation on hybrids that is worth sharing given the recent string of offerings in the market place. Too often, these are 'sold' as replacement for Term Deposits by bankers to their clients. They are NOT so and do carry equity ... Read more
Beware of banks bearing hybrids by Alan Kohler (Business Spectator)
There has recently been quite a lot of interest in the market for bank hybrids. This is because the large retiree market in Australia has been in search of increasing yield given the diminishing return from cash and term deposits over the past few years. The recent structure of hybrids (past 2 to ... Read more
Great Investment Quotes and Concepts
The basic principles of successful investing are timeless and quotes from some experts help illuminate these. “How many millionaires do you know who have become wealthy by investing in savings accounts?” Robert G Allen Cash and bank deposits are low risk and fine for near term spending ... Read more