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22 February 2025
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As geopolitical tensions rise, Western countries are trying to de-couple from China and source products from other nations. The question is: which countries can replace China as the world's manufacturing powerhouse?
If it's common knowledge, it's not an outperformance edge. You may have insights about China, a great company, US ingenuity, inflation or interest rates, but if they are common, they are already priced in.
Much of the commentary on the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on China and Taiwan lacks a deep understanding of each country's political reality. It may even improve, rather than exacerbate, the China-Taiwan problem.
Investing with previous-year top performing fund managers and acting along with the crowd puts you on the wrong side of a zero-sum game. There may be a 'fear' premium for investing in out-of-favour styles.
Capital-weighted index funds have been providing investors with low cost exposure to equity markets for 40 years. Now we have the potential of smart beta to consider as an alternative to active and index funds.
The CIO of Australia’s fourth largest super fund by assets, John Pearce, suggests the odds favour a flat year for markets, with the possibility of a correction of 10% or more. However, he’ll use any dip as a buying opportunity.
Decades of policy failure have induced a fall in housing affordability. Unless painful changes are made, an underclass will emerge in a society that is supposed to boast the one of the world's highest standards of living.
Australia boasts one of the world's highest dividend yielding sharemarkets, providing substantial benefits to investors and retirees. Despite this, individuals often stretch for even more yield, to their detriment.
The Australian sharemarket seems to be rewarding a number of unprofitable companies on the promise of future riches. Yet profits and cashflows still matter, as a recent case study of Domino's Pizza shows.
Exceptional returns from the US sharemarket over the past decade have driven by sales growth, margin expansion, rising valuations, and dividends. Predicting future returns requires careful consideration of these factors.
US equities rule global markets, but history is littered with examples of markets that seemed invincible — until they weren’t. Diversification will be key for investor portfolios going forwards.
Increasing house prices pose challenges for housing affordability. This investigates the impact of stamp duty on the property market, and how removing the tax could help address several key issues.