| May 2013 | Federal Budget Review – 2013 Last night the Federal Government presented the 2013 Budget. We provide commentary on key announcements that may affect clients of Stewart Partners. |
| April 2013 | Children Inheritance – how much should you leave them? When sitting down to consider one’s legacy, deciding how much to leave your children, grandchildren and other beneficiaries is one of the most important questions wealthy families face. The range of possible answers is ‘everything’ to ‘nothing’. |
| March 2013 | Financial Independence in Retirement This article deals with the most common question we get asked: how much do I need to live an enjoyable and financially independent retirement? |
| February 2013 | What are the alternatives to Term Deposits? With the returns on term deposits and other cash like assets in Australia falling, many investors are wondering what alternatives may be available to them. A recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) offered some suggestions. We were somewhat mystified at what they had to say. |
| January 2013 | 2012 – The year patience, discipline & diversification was rewarded Throughout 2012, nervous investors did not have to look hard for reasons to avoid the financial markets. However, the year saw investors once again believe that the idea of owning a share in the world’s businesses is a sensible idea. This paper reviews 2012, the year patience, discipline and diversification was rewarded. |
| December 2012 | Why Too Much Data Disables Your Decision Making Knowledge, we’re told, is power. But what if our thirst for data is actually holding us back? What if obsessing over information actually reduces the quality of our decisions? That’s the question raised by Princeton and Stanford University psychologists in a fascinating study titled “On the Pursuit and Misuse of Useless Information”. |
| November 2012 | The Future for the Asian Region The financial crisis and subsequent ‘developed’ world recession have overshadowed changes in the ‘developing’ world that have implications for investors everywhere, as a new landmark Australian government report of Asia’s economic rise reveals. |
| October 2012 | How the Best Investor in the World beats the Market For good reason, Warren Buffett has long been considered one of the most judicious investors of his generation. However, a new study shows that his strategy for generating his returns is not only accessible for most investors, but has been used by firms like Stewart Partners for many years. |
| September 2012 | The Case for Investing in Europe The past year has seen a flood of negative headlines from Europe: bank bailouts, political upheavals, spiking bond yields and falling stock markets. We believe it is prudent to maintain exposure to European stocks. |
| July 2012 | The Death of Equities…again It has been a tough few years for investors in the stockmarket. Investor expectations of average annual stock returns of around 10% have been replaced with below average or even negative returns. For some, their emotional response is to question whether they should remain in the stockmarket, or to possibly reduce their exposure. |
| June 2012 | Eminent academic insights on the global economy This week Stewart Partners attended a seminar with some of the world’s leading financial academics. It was an opportunity for us to talk to and hear their views on recent global events and their thoughts on possible future outcomes. We have aggregated our learning below under some key headings. |
| May 2012 | Why Europe wants Greece to remain in the euro Over the past two years, we have written several articles focusing on what the financial issues in Greece mean for our clients. With some commentators speculating on the possibility of Greece leaving the euro, we reflect on how this scenario has arisen and discuss why Europe wants Greece to remain in the union. |
| May 2012 | Federal Budget Review 2012 Last night the Federal Government presented the 2012 Budget. We discuss the key announcements that may affect clients of Stewart Partners. |
| May 2012 | Recent Events & Possible Outcomes: Local & Global Financial Markets This paper discusses recent events in the Australian and global economies and financial markets and some of the possible outcomes. |
| March 2012 | Does the stockmarket still reward investors? A client recently asked if we expect the stockmarket to continue to reward investors for taking greater risk. We do – and this paper provides our rationale and an incredible video that demonstrates the ability of humans to innovate and drive future stock returns. |
| March 2012 | Why patient investors in the US have been rewarded If we think back to late 2008, the US was the epicentre of the GFC. Many investors wanted to remove any exposure to the US from the share portfolios, fearing that a ‘lost decade’ of returns was on the horizon. Since then, the US stockmarket has provided investors with returns almost double that of Australia. So how did this happen? |
| February 2012 | 2011 Year in Review The 2011 year reminded investors that they should hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and be thankful when reality does not match their fears. This paper provides an overview of the economy and markets during 2011. |
| January 2012 | Embracing Transparency with New Financial Adviser Rules Our published article on why we support the banning of adviser commissions and introduction of a standard fee for service advice model across the industry |
| January 2012 | New Years Resolutions This paper reflects on the performance of global financial markets to the end of 2011 and recommends five financial strategies that all investors should ensure they follow in 2012. |
| December 2011 | Were the old days really that good? As 2011 winds down and financial markets continue to face uncertainty over developments in the Eurozone crisis, this paper critically reflects on our memories of the ‘good old days’. |
| December 2011 | Eurozone Our perspective on what is happening in the Eurozone in late 2011 and what it means for investors. |
| November 2011 | A Good Apple is No Guarantee of a Good Investment It is important to remember that a good company does not always guarantee a good investment result. |
| October 2011 | Why Chasing Recent Winners Reduces Your Expected Return How many investors choose to invest in a stock, fund manager or asset class based solely on its recent performance over perhaps the last 5 years? Chasing recent winners has a higher probability of providing you with lower expected returns compared to smart investors. |
| October 2011 | How do you Measure Sovereign Risk? What is the best signal for investors worried about the risks posed by investing in sovereign bonds? Does one look at the relative size of a country’s debt, the nature of their borrowings or their credit ratings? And how long ago was the Australian Government in a similar position to the US today? |
| October 2011 | Financial Claims Scheme The Federal Government recently announced changes to the Financial Claims Scheme introduced in 2008 to protect investors with bank deposits. |
| August 2011 | Strategies to reduce anxiety when investing in tempestuous stock markets Many investors experience various levels of anxiety when financial markets are volatile. Consequently, there are strategies that we employ which are designed to minimise psychological stress. |
| July 2011 | Was Apple Always Destined to be the World’s Largest Stock? Apple’s innovative products are the gold standard for personal communication and entertainment gadgets, however it’s worth recalling how uninspiring the future for the company looked not so long ago. |
| July 2011 | Carbon Tax – What it Means for Investors The carbon tax announced yesterday is complex. In this article we detail some of the key points that we believe you should be aware of. |
| July 2011 | Are the Big 4 Banks a Guaranteed Great Investment? We often meet with people who believe that having a significantly overweight exposure to Australia’s Big 4 bank stocks is a fool proof investment strategy. Whilst there is no doubt that the Big 4 banks are good companies, it is important to remember that a good company is not necessarily a good investment. |
| July 2011 | Why China is so Important to Australia & Our Stockmarket We discuss how the growth of China is impacting on the structure of our economy and how it drives the profitability of our largest companies. |
| June 2011 | Why You Shouldn’t Lose Sleep Over Greece Some areas of the media have been trying to outdo each other with hype over the financial mess which is modern day Greece, with melancholy scenarios for the global economy. Our paper serves as an antidote to manic behaviour. |
| June 2011 | Discipline: Your Secret Weapon Research has highlighted that the worst investors tend to be those who follow markets and the financial media fanatically. |
| May 2011 | Federal Budget Review 2011 Last night the Federal Government presented the 2011 Budget. We discuss the key announcements that may affect clients of Stewart Partners. |
| April 2011 | China’s Growth Trajectory & Implications for the United States We consider how the United States’ high debt levels may impact China’s economic rise and what options the U.S has to remedy their debt situation. |
| April 2011 | Japanese Quake Aftermath for the Global Economy We discuss why the vast human tragedy in Japan will likely have only short term negative implications for the global economy and your investment portfolio. |
| April 2011 | How well do most Australian fund managers & U.S brokers serve their clients? We review research on whether active fund managers actually deliver value for their clients. |
| April 2011 | Why One Boatload of Iron Ore Now Buys Us More Flat Screen TVs In 2005, one ship load of iron ore going to China was worth 2,200 flat screen TVs coming back the other way. Today, due to the surge in iron ore prices and falling price of TVs, one ship load of iron ore is equivalent to 22,000 TVs. That’s a 900% improvement in 5 years. |
| April 2011 | 2010 Investment Year in Review We reflect on the performance of global markets in 2010. |
| April 2011 | Special Report – Investing in Residential Property This paper focuses on current issues regarding investing in residential property as an asset class. |
| January 2011 | PAF Donations to Queensland Flood Relief It is important to note that Private Ancillary Funds (PAFs) are unfortunately unable to donate to the Queensland Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal. |
| December 2010 | Private Ancillary Fund Donations A reminder of how the new guidelines for Private Ancillary Funds (PAF) may impact which organisations the trustees can donate to. |
| October 2010 | Do Budget Deficits & Low Economic Growth Reduce Expected Investment Returns? Research has shown that Government budget deficits and forecast economic growth as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are not reliable predictors of a country’s bond or equity market returns. |
| October 2010 | Why Greece Landed in Economic Calamity A recent article on how the financial management of the Greek economy, particularly over the past decade, has led to their current financial predicament. Thus clearly illustrating how the GFC was just the trigger, not the cause. |
| July 2010 | Understanding the Resource Super Profits Tax We try to provide a balanced and comprehensible overview of the Resource Super Profits Tax. |
| July 2010 | Hybrids: Are They a Substitute for Fixed Interest Securities? We discuss the reasons why we don’t recommend hybrids to our clients. |
| July 2010 | The Value of Fund Manager Ratings Is there any value in the ratings system applied to fund managers? |
| May 2010 | The Henry Tax Review We detail the key proposed changes that will be implemented subject to the legislation being passed in Parliament. |
| May 2010 | 2010 Federal Budget Last night the Federal Government presented the 2010 Budget. We discuss the key announcements that may affect clients of Stewart Partners. |
| April 2010 | Global Sovereign Debt Update, April 2010 Early in 2010, the anxiety about excessive debt levels spread from banks to numerous governments, including a number that bailed out their banks. |
| April 2010 | Is There Alpha in Norway? An academic review of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund (US$430 Billion) found no evidence that active forecasting fund managers could add value above the market rate of return despite their perceived skills and high fees. |
| April 2010 | Risk Dimensions Deliver for Patient Investors Many investors do not appreciate the difference between absolute and relative risk and fail to acknowledge the role risk plays in investing. |
| January 2010 | Why Invest Beyond Australia? There is no right or wrong answer for the ‘correct’ amount of exposure to Australian and International shares in a portfolio, but it is a global phenomenon that most investors have a ‘home bias’ in their investment portfolios. |
| November 2009 | Does a Tactical Asset Allocation Strategy Add Value? Tactical Asset Allocation is when an investor changes their current asset allocation based upon an expected event or trend. This paper details evidence that a tactical asset allocation strategy doesn’t work – unless luck is on your side. |
| November 2009 | Transitional Arrangements for PPFs On 1 October 2009, the Federal Parliament passed new legislation governing Prescribed Private Funds (PPFs). We discuss the practical ramifications of the new legislation. |
| October 2009 | Was it a Good Idea to Invest in Australian Shares 5 or 10 Years Ago? We reflect on the recent performance of the Australian stockmarket. |
| October 2009 | Is the Prospect of Inflation an Issue for Investors? Many observers believe that there is an upside risk to inflation over the medium term. How should investors respond to this risk? |
| October 2009 | Does an Expanded Government Role Impact Investment Returns? Currently there is no compelling evidence to suggest that higher levels of Government involvement in the economy may stifle investment returns. |
| September 2009 | Are Markets Still Efficient? In the wake of the global financial crisis, many people have been left asking why none of the supposed experts in economics appeared to see the crisis coming. |
| August 2009 | From the Research Desk… Global stockmarkets have been experiencing strong gains over recent months. Below we provide details of recent events. |
| July 2009 | Is this Economic Recovery Sustainable? The Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Glenn Stevens, recently cited four conditions needed for a sustained global recovery. |
| July 2009 | Why You Should No Longer Defer Your Investment Plans Investors who have deferred investments into growth assets like property and shares until ‘things settle down’ don’t necessarily know what signal they are looking for to make them feel ready to resume their investment program. |
| July 2009 | Lessons Learnt from the GFC or Long Held Truths Simply Confirmed? In the Australian Financial Review, a recent study listed the 10 major lessons learned from the performance of financial markets in 2008-09. It’s an interesting read for the simple fact that none of these lessons were learned in 2008-09 – they were all long held views of investors with carefully planned and robust investment philosophies. |
| July 2009 | What the Henry Future Tax System Review Means for You We can look to the past to ascertain how recommendations in the Henry Tax Review will likely be implemented. |
| July 2009 | Most Individual Stocks Lose Over Time It is also a little known fact that although asset classes provide reasonably predictable positive returns over the long run, the majority of individual securities tend to post negative returns over the long run. |
| June 2009 | Proposed Changes to the Legal Framework for Prescribe Private Funds: Follow Up We have prepared the attached paper that outlines in greater detail the impact of the draft guidelines on our clients with existing PPFs and the rationale for these changes. |
| June 2009 | Impact of new legislation in NSW on Estate Planning ‘Intestacy’ is the situation where a person dies without a legally valid will. A 2008 survey by the Public Trustee found that 54% of people in NSW do not have a Will. |
| June 2009 | The Story of Property Why an investment portfolio should include exposure to Property. |
| May 2009 | Why Volatility and Diversification Matters Most investors understand that diversification in their portfolio is important to reduce concentration risk, but many may not be aware of how it can also enhance performance. |
| May 2009 | Budget 2009 Last night the Federal Government presented the 2009 Budget. We discuss the key announcements that may affect clients of Stewart Partners. |
| April 2009 | Just how Volatile have Financial Markets been Recently? In 2008, the number of days where the local market recorded rises or falls exceeding 3% was unprecedented. |
| April 2009 | The Value of Sound Advice What constitutes Good Advice and how to recognise it. |
| April 2009 | Prescribed Private Funds Submission to Treasury Stewart Partners submitted a joint proposal with law firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques to Treasury’s review on improving the integrity of PPFs. |
| January 2009 | Economic Review – Quarter 1, 2009 – Where Are We Now? Governments continue to develop financial rescue packages aimed at engendering confidence and unlocking frozen credit markets, which pose the greatest threat to a prolonged global recession. |
| January 2009 | Observations from Past Banking Crises Many parallels exist between the current credit crisis and the other banking crises over the past 40 years. |
| December 2008 | Why Prophets and Profits Don’t Mix We review last year’s forecasts and remind ourselves how the stockmarket has performed during past economic downturns. |
| November 2008 | Active Fund Management vs. Chance Overall, active managers do worse than you may expect. |
| November 2008 | Lessons from History – The Stockmarket Stockmarkets can still perform strongly despite the economic backdrop. |
| November 2008 | Cash & Fixed Interest Strategies: What Happens After 28 November 2008? We recap how the Government guarantee will work, how much it will cost, the risks of trying to take ‘advantage’ of the guarantee and how Stewart Partners fixed interest strategy is responding to the changes. |
| November 2008 | Impact of Australian Government Guarantee on Fixed Interest Strategies We outline how the Government Guarantee will work, and how Stewart Partners fixed interest strategies have responded to these developments. |
| September 2008 | The Fallout From Lehman Brothers Many of you may be aware that Lehman Brothers – a large investment bank in the U.S – has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This is not an everyday event. |
