magazine archive
magazine archive
Editor's View
It is time to wave goodbye to the conglomerate model
Thursday 11 Apr 2019Conglomerate has become a dirty word as owning various businesses operating in different industries is no longer seen as relevant in the modern world. The returns for investors in these stocks also haven’t been great. It is very hard for a board to run a company with lots of complex parts and you...
Stimulus measures key to first quarter market rally
Thursday 04 Apr 2019Stock markets around the world have bounced back in 2019 with positive gains in every single major market. This is a great outcome given how miserable markets were last year. However, it does seem slightly odd that markets are moving upwards when there are ongoing uncertainties clouding the...
What’s spooking the markets this time?
Thursday 28 Mar 2019A cocktail of negative data has troubled the markets once more, resulting in large declines in share prices around the world amid worries about global growth. Investors have flocked to sovereign debt including Australian government bonds where the yield on the 10-year notes has fallen to a record...
Many global equity funds fail to add value
Thursday 21 Mar 2019Three quarters of actively-managed funds with a global equity mandate have underperformed the MSCI World index since 11 November 2010, according to data from Trustnet. Put another way, buying a passive exchange-traded fund tracking this index, which covers mid and large cap stocks from 23 countries...
Top up your ISA with cash now and invest later if you are nervous
Thursday 14 Mar 2019Brexit is nearly upon us and the dreaded ‘B’ word has been playing havoc with how we manage our money. For example, many of us have been happy to buy extra longer-life food to avoid being caught out by any Brexit-related supply disruption. However, demand appears to have weakened for spending on...
You don’t have to be a millionaire to win at savings
Thursday 07 Mar 2019We’re regularly told by the media that investing could make you a millionaire if you save hard. While we’d all like to have that much money, the hard truth is that becoming a millionaire is beyond the reach of many people. Some of these millionaire articles have been criticised because they imply...
When will it be deal time again for the big miners?
Thursday 28 Feb 2019Large cap mining companies have been great performers this year with an average gain of 15.3% versus 7.2% from the FTSE All-Share. Commodity prices have been picking up in general, there is increasing optimism that US/China trade talks will reach an amicable conclusion, and China’s latest stimulus...
Don't take your eye off the news flow
Thursday 21 Feb 2019We regularly talk about the importance of having an open mind when it comes to investing. On a related note it is worth thinking about maintaining focus on news flow, particularly for companies having a run of bad luck. You run the risk of missing important information if you take your eye off the...
Share buybacks return to the spotlight
Thursday 14 Feb 2019Japan has become more shareholder-friendly over the past few years with companies handing back spare cash via higher dividends. This process has naturally extended to share buybacks, as evidenced last week by Sony declaring its first ever buyback. Although Sony’s actions boosted its share price,...
Why the Fed’s U-turn matters to investors around the world
Thursday 07 Feb 2019There have been numerous interesting events in the US over the past week which matter to investors around the world. The latest economic data implies the US economy is doing very well with soaring job creation a key stand-out. Yet the US Federal Reserve has chosen to follow a more cautious path by...