Register For Our Mailing List

Register to receive our free weekly newsletter including editorials.

Home / Author: Warren Bird

Warren Bird

A journey through the life of a fixed rate bond

Bonds have the most predictable returns of any asset class, yet they are often maligned and misunderstood by market commentators who call them risky. Follow the 13-year life of this April 2015 bond and decide for yourself.

Your bond questions answered

Cuffelinks reader, James, has some additional questions covering: bonds for capital gain or income, bonds in a growth strategy, passive vs active investing, unconstrained bond funds and duration risk.

An idiot’s guide to bond funds

In response to a reader's question regarding bond funds, we asked our bond guru to explain, in layman's term, the workings of bond funds and what features to look for before investing in this asset class.

Why would you invest in junk?

Sub-investment grade investments, or ‘junk bonds’, pay well but carry a higher risk of default. If the risk is managed properly, a broad portfolio of high yield securities can be a worthwhile investment option.

Bonds have a role in managing inflation risks

Investors should not shun bonds in their portfolios due to a misunderstanding about the potential for earnings to grow at least in line with inflation. Fixed income has a role in inflation risk management.

What’s that UBS bond benchmark in the annual statements?

There's an interesting history of state and federal government finances and innovative merchant bankers behind the UBS bond index often found in annual statements from fund managers.

Latest Updates

Investment strategies

9 lessons from 2024

Key lessons include expensive stocks can always get more expensive, Bitcoin is our tulip mania, follow the smart money, the young are coming with pitchforks on housing, and the importance of staying invested.

Investment strategies

Time to announce the X-factor for 2024

What is the X-factor - the largely unexpected influence that wasn’t thought about when the year began but came from left field to have powerful effects on investment returns - for 2024? It's time to select the winner.

Shares

Australian shares struggle as 2020s reach halfway point

It’s halfway through the 2020s decade and time to get a scorecheck on the Australian stock market. The picture isn't pretty as Aussie shares are having a below-average decade so far, though history shows that all is not lost.

Shares

Is FOMO overruling investment basics?

Four years ago, we introduced our 'bubbles' chart to show how the market had become concentrated in one type of stock and one view of the future. This looks at what, if anything, has changed, and what it means for investors.

Shares

Is Medibank Private a bargain?

Regulatory tensions have weighed on Medibank's share price though it's unlikely that the government will step in and prop up private hospitals. This creates an opportunity to invest in Australia’s largest health insurer.

Shares

Negative correlations, positive allocations

A nascent theme today is that the inverse correlation between bonds and stocks has returned as inflation and economic growth moderate. This broadens the potential for risk-adjusted returns in multi-asset portfolios.

Retirement

The secret to a good retirement

An Australian anthropologist studying Japanese seniors has come to a counter-intuitive conclusion to what makes for a great retirement: she suggests the seeds may be found in how we approach our working years.

Sponsors

Alliances

© 2024 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer
The data, research and opinions provided here are for information purposes; are not an offer to buy or sell a security; and are not warranted to be correct, complete or accurate. Morningstar, its affiliates, and third-party content providers are not responsible for any investment decisions, damages or losses resulting from, or related to, the data and analyses or their use. To the extent any content is general advice, it has been prepared for clients of Morningstar Australasia Pty Ltd (ABN: 95 090 665 544, AFSL: 240892), without reference to your financial objectives, situation or needs. For more information refer to our Financial Services Guide. You should consider the advice in light of these matters and if applicable, the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before making any decision to invest. Past performance does not necessarily indicate a financial product’s future performance. To obtain advice tailored to your situation, contact a professional financial adviser. Articles are current as at date of publication.
This website contains information and opinions provided by third parties. Inclusion of this information does not necessarily represent Morningstar’s positions, strategies or opinions and should not be considered an endorsement by Morningstar.