Fodder starts with an update from ex-Fed insider, Dr Bob Gay, on the unwinding of extraordinary monetary policies by central banks around the world (it's only just begun, in his opinion). It's a great backgrounder to Bob's upcoming presentation at Strategies Conference (23-24 Aug) in which he will debate that "Another financial crisis is inevitable" and give strategies for weathering a storm, whether or not one is on the horizon. Yale's Stephen Roach explains why China has once again defied the hand wringing of "the nattering nabobs of negativism". Professor Ron Bird reviews two new studies on mispricings/irrationalities across world equity markets. Tim Farrelly looks at whether ASIC is right that hybrids are a "ridiculous investment" for retail investors. And we end with Magellan's Gerald Stack on why infrastructure is a reliable haven in otherwise stormy seas.
- All the best for another great week's continuing education - Graham
P.S. Join us for PortfolioConstruction Forum Strategies Conference 2017 (23-24 August) - It all adds up!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK...

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.- Aristotle

LATEST...

Markets
The quandary on inflation
Recently, Fed Chair Janet Yellen expressed dismay that inflation has remained persistently below the Fed's target of 2%. Will low inflation derail the Fed's exit strategy?
Dr Robert Gay, Fenwick Advisers | More

Markets
Deciphering China's economic resilience
Forecasters find it difficult to resist superimposing the outcomes in major crisis-battered developed economies on China. That has been the wrong approach in the past; it is wrong again today.
Stephen Roach, Yale University | More

Markets
Research review: Anomalies and irrationality
Two new studies provide widespread evidence of mispricings/irrationalities across world equity markets. One in particular provides valuable insight into managing risk in equity investing.
Ron Bird, University of Technology Sydney | 1.00 CE | More

Investing
ASIC on hybrids
The head of ASIC says that hybrids are a ridiculous investment for retail investors. Are they? Yes and no.
Tim Farrelly, farrelly's | More

Markets | Investing
Rising rates, populism... but infrastructure remains reliable
For the foreseeable future, earnings of the infrastructure assets asset class, if defined in a disciplined manner, should continue to be reliable.
Gerald Stack, Magellan Asset Management | 0.25 CE | More

No new normal
...This is not a new normal. It is the application of the same economic principles to the current demographics and practices of people.
Michael Chamberlain, MCA NZ | More

Old economics, new normal
Agree that the principles of economics haven't changed. But the outcomes most certainly have. I think the concept of the new normal, popularised by PIMCO, is a really helpful way of describing the world we are in today...
Tim Farrelly, farrelly's | More

RECENTLY...

Philosophy
A Guide to forming an Investment Policy Framework
This Guide aims to assist practitioners develop their own investment policy framework by providing a helpful checklist of issues to consider, and publicly available examples from institutions in Australia and globally.
Andrew Fairweather & Jerome Lander | More

Markets
A "Macroneconomic" Revolution?
Next month will mark the tenth anniversary of the GFC. Why have so few of the policies that might have ameliorated economic conditions and alleviated public resentment been implemented since?
Anatole Kaletsky, GaveKal | More

Strategies | Finology
A client's life is a mix of stocks & bonds - allocate around it
It is time to properly account for risk characteristics of client’s most valuable asset - their human capital. This isn’t easy to implement and places practitioners in a difficult situation.
Moshe Milevsky, York University | 1.50 CE | More

Markets | Strategies
Don't confuse the winds of change with "hot air"
The biggest portfolio risk in 2017 will be over confidence in assigning scenario probabilities. Don't confuse the winds of change with "hot air" when it comes to portfolio construction.
Robert Mead, PIMCO | 0.25 CE | More

Finology
Achieve client goals with minimum discomfort
Actually observing how a client makes financial trade-offs can provide a more accurate measure of their risk preferences than if we simply ask them questions about what they think they would do.
Shachar Kariv, University of California, Berkeley | 1.00 CE | More

A small rise in rates may have little impact
In terms of the impact to changes in interest rates from here, I’m not sure the suggestion that the “economy's sensitivity to interest rate changes has also doubled” holds true in general terms.
Brad Matthews, Brad Matthews Investment Strategies | More

What about asset price inflation?
Call me nuts but the lowest interest rates in the history of mankind still gives me great consternation.
Doug Turek, Professional Wealth | More

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