Automation and reshoring – key investment themes
The twin themes of automation and reshoring will bring opportunities for investors for years to come. We look at the reasons behind their rise and their ESG implications. Among the many trends accelerated by the pandemic are automation and reshoring, which is when a company brings production closer to its home market. However, this is…
Navigating uncertainty in retirement
While wealth transfer from one generation to the next is putting pressure on financial planning practices to attract younger clients, there’s no doubt that advice during the retirement years is still a mainstay of the profession. With draft retirement income covenant legislation expected to make its way through Federal Parliament by July 2022, there is…
Sustainable innovation – the new frontier
The asset management industry is in a solid position to support a more sustainable future by embedding ethical factors into every stage of the investment process. It also has a role in sponsoring new, greener industries while encouraging traditional sectors to evolve. However, to achieve these goals, it’s clear that some creative thinking will be…
Energy sectors in the transition to net zero
In the latest of our stories that look beyond profit, Schroders’ Peter Fullerton explains the critical role that energy companies like Ampol play in the transition to net zero. How does the world move to a more sustainable future? One school of thought is that we need to divest from companies with a high exposure…
There’s no magic jobless rate to increase Australian wages
With the official unemployment rate now 4.2% – the lowest since 2008 – Prime Minister Scott Morrison has predicted a rate “with a 3 in front of it this year”. The Reserve Bank of Australia agrees, forecasting unemployment below 4% in coming months. Many economists have been surprised at how quickly employment has rebounded from…
Fed turns from friend to foe
At its January meeting, the Federal Reserve took no policy action, in line with expectations. The Fed’s main objective this month was to communicate its next steps for the tightening cycle that is being kicked off this year. The statement provided new guidance on the lift-off of rates which “will soon be appropriate” and on…
Top economists expect RBA to hold rates
Australia’s leading forecasters expect the Reserve Bank to resist pressure to lift interest rates all year, despite rising interest rates overseas, much higher inflation, plunging unemployment, and financial market traders pricing in two hikes in the next six months. The 24-person forecasting panel assembled by The Conversation also predicts: weaker economic growth much lower housing…
Where to from here for value stocks?
While US markets are undeniably in nose-bleed territory, the gap between the most highly rated and least highly rated stocks is at record levels. That means undervalued parts of the market could provide stellar returns in the coming years. The performance of US equity market in recent years has been outstanding. The top 10 stocks…
The climate challenge for investors
A number of developments at the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow gave grounds for optimism. These include deeper cooperation between China and the US and a pledge by the financial services sector to harness its resources to help with the global transition to net zero emissions. In the wake of Fidelity’s Sustainable World Summit,…
The changing shape of income investing
Many trustees think about diversified portfolios in terms of risk management – which makes sense. But a well-diversified portfolio has the other big advantage of helping investors adapt to changing market conditions. In 2022, with significant shifts coming in markets, Perpetual Private expect a subtle change in how they generate income from portfolios. In this…
