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Introduction The challenges humanity faces have never been more important than now. We are in the middle of an environmental transition that requires significant investments both in Australia and globally.  Australian investors are keen to play a role in financing this transition, however, need to solve the challenge of investing in...

Returns on investments just keep getting lower. As cashed-up investors look to alternative investments, fixed income funds have been beneficiaries. Fortunately, some funds have been sympathetic to investors’ plight and the need for income and dropped fees accordingly. However, others persist with a high fee agenda, are the fees worth...

Last week we saw the Australian government come out with a massive stimulus package that will push Australia’s net debt to almost $1 trillion as it fights to protect jobs and the economy.  If we turn our attention to the US, it looks like agreement between the democrats and...

Undoubtedly, the easiest way to invest in bonds is by trying to find a fund that mimics your desired outcome. The fund could be a low cost, passive ETF that tracks an index or an actively managed, listed, or unlisted fund. The fund manager manages the investments, deciding when to...

At first glance the proposed new changes to small business insolvency and liquidation seem positive, but who lends to the businesses and how do they raise funding? It soon becomes apparent that the changes will impact more than just small businesses. With modest fanfare, the government announced changes to the...

“Bonds are the underwear in your portfolio – unexciting and not much thought about, but select the wrong pair and you’ll be surprised at just how uncomfortable you are.” - Dr William Bernstein Like a good foundation garment, bonds should be the boring but predictable base of every investment portfolio –...

Can Government Bonds Continue to Act as Defensive Investments? Government bond markets are now at the precipice of a paradigm shift. Unprecedented global fiscal stimulus. Extreme monetary policy experiments. Yields at multi-century lows. In combination, these factors fundamentally change the risk vs. reward proposition of government bonds. So much so, they...

Australian retail investors are at a distinct disadvantage in the bond market. Credit ratings are an important indication of the perceived future risk of an investment, but brokers are not able to show them to retail investors because of a quirky ASIC ruling. The credit rating agencies refused to pay higher...

A conventional approach to “risk” in fixed income is the idea of a single obligor default risk, i.e. the risk of an individual borrower failing to repay amounts to a lender when they are due, resulting in a potential loss to that lender. This risk is generally well understood...

Think of the last time you made a large purchase, such as a car, house, or even a TV. You would have compared products before you made your decision. In the investment world, bond yields are used as a key comparison in the valuation process for many different assets and...