(22 June 2017, AFR, p15, Myriam Robin, SMH) ‘Selling by foreign investors exacerbated the biggest single-day fall in the benchmark S&P/ASX200 since Donald Trump’s election last November, with $27 billion, or 1.6 per cent, wiped off the value of the local market on Wednesday. The vicious sell-off took the index convincingly below the 5700 mark and erased all its gains this … Continue reading
[COMMENT: The debate continues about active versus passive funds management. It seems as though there is something to be said for an active investor who remains nimble. But do note the details of the accompanying bar chart “Returns for different hedge fund styles (%pa)” (From 2005 till now, and Past 10 years) – with Activist, … Continue reading
(9 June 2017, AFR, p32, by Philip Baker) ‘It’s that time of the year again when all the bears come out to play. Hot on the heels of May, which is usually a bad month for shares, the history books show that June isn’t much better. Blame it on the confession season, tax loss selling … Continue reading
(8 June 2017, AFR, p28, by Myriam Robin) ‘Investors who put their money in small exchange traded funds that lack sufficient market liquidity could receive less than market value when they want to sell, according to Chris Brycki, the CEO of roboadviser Stockspot. Stockspot this week released its third annual survey of the Australian passive universe, rating … Continue reading
[COMMENT: Here is an interesting case study for investors and traders to study to help minimise investeing risk going forward.] (27 May 2017, AFR, p5, by Patrick Durkin) ‘The corporate regulator says “all options are on the table” for chasing the former rich listers behind one of Australia’s largest financial collapses who have been ordered … Continue reading
[COMMENT / LESSON: Some interesting observations from this article are that we should always look to the bigger picture – much bigger – before drawing conclusions. The figures and charts quoted here since 2007 will look very different over different time periods. ALSO, regarding accumulation indexes – that some of the world’s indexes are actually … Continue reading
[COMMENT: This is an interesting insight into the little-know workings of the Chinese share markets.] (12 May 2017, AFR, p14, by Angus Grigg) ‘In all the opportunities thrown up by China’s rise, the one never mentioned is the dysfunction of mainland stock markets. These casino-like exchanges in Shanghai or Shenzhen are hardly pillars of corporate … Continue reading
[COMMENT: I don’t normally reproduce this much text from a news article; but this is compelling reading because it will challenge the beliefs of some investors. I urge you to click-through and read the entire article.] (6 May 2017, AFR, p25, by Christopher Joye) ‘Buying a “passive” or “indexed” fund is lobotomised investing, predicated on … Continue reading
[COMMENT: I cannot help but comment on this, as regular readers will know – I don’t invest in managed funds based on past experience and ongoing news and research like this news story.] (26 April 2017, AFR, p1, by James Frost) ‘Australia’s most successful and well-known stock pickers are under pressure as active managers fail to … Continue reading
(30 March 2017, AFR, p17, by James Eyers) ‘It was during a three-year stint in Chicago, working for market maker Optiver, that Matt Leibowitz realised Australians were getting gouged buying international equities through the brokerages owned by the big banks and the customer experience was woeful. ‘ <snipped…> ‘…The culmination of his thinking is Stake, an … Continue reading
(28 March 2017, AFR, p29, by James Frost) ‘Assets managed by Australian exchange-traded fund providers are poised for their next leg up with more than half of institutional buyers indicating plans to ramp up their allocation to the investment vehicles in the future. The survey of 35 institutions, which included five of the top industry … Continue reading
(23 March 2017, AFR, p25, by Jens Meyer) ‘An exit from equities for big money could be on the cards after a record number of global fund managers reckon that stocks are overvalued, according to a survey. In Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s monthly survey of 200 global investors representing close to $US600 billion in assets … Continue reading
(10 March 2017, AFR, p33, by Myriam Robin) ‘Corporate Australia has enjoyed one of the best earnings seasons in years, but investors don’t appear to be buying in. The ASX200’s growth so far this year has been modest, and has vastly lagged that of other major indices. While many equity strategists remain upbeat – expecting the … Continue reading
[COMMENT: He is some more discussion about the pros and cons of active versus passive investing, and to invest in managed funds or not, plus other considerations. Please be the judge yourself.] (4 March 2017, AFR, p24, by Philip Baker) ‘Warren Buffet warned this week about the rule of active managers? But should you let … Continue reading
(1 March 2017, AFR, p28, by Philip Baker) ‘The full-time siren for the current reporting season has just been sounded and it’s hard to criticise the latest batch of profits from corporate Australia that has given investors their best set of results since 2010. But they still need to tread carefully and hone their stock-picking … Continue reading
(27 February 2017, AFR, p28, by Karen Maley) ‘Are we witnessing a classic “suckers’ rally”? If you listen to more bearish analysts, the answer is an emphatic “yes”. They say Wall Street’s prolonged rise – the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average has notched 11 straight record closes, its longest winning streak since early 1987 – bears … Continue reading
(22 February 2017, The Age, MONEY supplement, p3, Marcus Padley) ‘I get regular emails pointing out how bad broker recommendations have been in hindsight. Most of the finger pointing is simply an investor attempting to transfer the blame to someone else of course, but if the investor is ever going to learn from their mistakes … Continue reading
[COMMENT: Some interesting news and insight for those investors and traders who are interested in the online brokers, and who owns what.] (15 February 2017, AFR, p18, by: Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald, Joyce Moullakis) ‘CMC Markets could end up powering ANZ Share Investing, with Bell Financial Group dropping out of the race for the broker … Continue reading
[COMMENT: There are many points of view (ie. different opinions) about holding shares as the share price falls, or selling, protecting capital by selling, or hoping for the best by holding. This news story throws an interesting light on this topic.] (14 February 2017, AFR, p26, by Philip Baker) ‘Patience pays off for investors when … Continue reading
(11 February 2017, AFR, p27, by Myriam Robin and Jessica Sier) ‘Investors poured into shares on Friday, buoyed by more of US President Donald Trump’s promises to introduce “phenomenal” tax cuts, while local investors digested a string of profit results this week as earnings season heated up. Several off-the-cuff comments by Mr Trump this week … Continue reading
[COMMENT: Another very informative and great article from Marcus Padley.] (8 February 2017, The Age, MONEY supplement p8, Marcus Padley) ‘After a relentless raft of profit warnings last week the alarm bells are ringing.’ ‘First there was Aconex (ACX) down 45 per cent on Monday. Virtus (VRT) down 17 per cent on Tuesday. Then Ozforex (OFX) and … Continue reading
[COMMENT: Interesting article comparing differing investing styles and approaches.] (6 February 2017, AFR, p16, by Jonathan Shapiro) ‘Buying stocks that go up, and selling the ones that go down seems like a simple way to beat the market. It turns out that when it comes to Australia, it’s by far the best. Morgan Stanley’s team … Continue reading
[COMMENT: In many cases where someone inside a company is selling their shares because they know “something”, or a substantial shareholder is selling down their holding for a good reason, the average investor won’t have the same information at hand, but they can still be alerted to the selling by studying the share price performance. … Continue reading
(4 February 2017, AFR, p26, by Philip Baker) ‘So far this year there have been plenty of spills and thrills thanks to President Donald Trump and all his tweets and phone calls. But it’s been dead set boring for Wall Street. Indeed, go back 89 years and there have only been four other times that the … Continue reading
(3 February 2017, AFR, p30, by Philip Baker) ‘February is usually a good month for the sharemarket. But not when its the year after the US president gets elected and definitely not if that president is elected for the first time. When that happens, February turns into a very bad month for investors. January often … Continue reading
[COMMENT: Regular readers of this blog will know that I am not a fan of managed funds, nor the various ways in which fund managers can report their fund performance to hide ugly truths from their fund members and investors. Nonetheless, here is an article on fund performance. I will let you be the judge … Continue reading
(21 Janaury 2017, AFR, p31, by Myriam Robin and Jens Meyer) ‘The Australian sharemarket lost the last of its 2017 gains this week, as global markets digested the increasing-certainty of a ‘hard Brexit‘ and lost more of the exuberance that greeted the election of Donald Trump last year. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 lost 0.7 per cent … Continue reading
(19 January 2017, AFR, p16, by Jonathan Shapiro) ‘Any good fund manager knows from experience that stock picking is a humbling pursuit. The winners one year tend to find themselves among the losers the following year – as the market rewards, and then punishes, them for the stocks they own and the strategies they deploy. … Continue reading
[COMMENT: Here are some interesting insights into the makings of a special fund manager.] (16 January 2017, AFR, p13, by: Jonathan Shapiro, Philip Baker) “I’ll bring out my black box, if you show me your crystal ball.” That is the challenge laid down by Alan Sheen to the “fundamental” stockpickers who scoff – and there … Continue reading
(13 January 2017, AFR, p30, by Philip Baker) ‘Buckle up, the ride is really just starting and it’s going to be wild. Just like a nuclear explosion, it may not be what President-elect Donald Trump initially says that causes the biggest kerfuffle, but rather the progressive fall-out that will have more of an impact on investors. Whatever happens, everyone got … Continue reading
