Forum Fodder

Forum Fodder | Friday 13 November 2020
“We may be heading towards two global economies – a Chinese-led ecosystem and a US-led or western ecosystem. That has huge implications for the investment world” - Vikram Mansharamani at Portfolio Construction Forum Strategies Conference 2020
All the best for another week’s continuing education!
Graham

Markets

The Democrats’ four-year reprieve
As Joe Biden eked out a victory in the US presidential election, observers of American democracy were left scratching their heads. How did Donald Trump manage to retain the support of so many Americans?
Dani Rodrik, Harvard University | Read

Markets | Strategies | As seen at Strategies Conference 2020

It’s an acceleration of the pre-Covid world, not a whole new world
The world today is an acceleration and escalation of the world that existed before Covid-19, rather than a whole new world. Broad, multidisciplinary thinking is essential.
Vikram Mansharamani, Harvard University | 0.50 CE | Watch, Listen

Markets | Investing | As seen at Strategies Conference 2020

There is no “new” normal for investing
Driven by Covid-19, 2020 saw economics 101 meet market psychology. Today, fear and greed set up a rich opportunity set on long and short sides.
Andrew Clifford, Platinum Asset Management | 0.50 CE | Watch, Listen

Strategies | Investing | As seen at Strategies Conference 2020

The holy grail of factor timing is a poisoned chalice
Investors should not attempt to time, but rather allocate to well-diversified and balanced multi-factor portfolios and provide consistent exposure to targeted factors.
Simon Lansdorp, Robeco | 0.50 CE | Read, Watch, Listen

Finology

Greed, investing and ethical behaviour
Relatively little is known about what greed is and does. These two papers highlight the importance of greed in economic behaviour, and to a greater chance of engaging in ethically questionable behaviour.
Rob Hamshar, Portfolio Construction Forum | 1.00 CE | Read

Strategies

Traditional valuation methods are broken
One question, that I will put some thought into, considers whether comparisons via an IRR are better than via a DCF.
Mark Hayden, Hayden Financial Services | Have your say!

Strategies

Traditional valuation methods are broken
I will use a somewhat extreme (and geeky) example to illustrate why IRR is better than DCF… There are ways of improving DCF models but the bottom line is that IRR is more workable in practice.
Tim Farrelly, farrelly’s Investment Strategy | Have your say!

Finology | Invitation to investment advisers

Complimentary self-assessment to benchmark your Client Care & Practice knowledge and skills
FASEA requires that financial advisers continually improve their client care and practice knowledge and skills - doing so makes obvious business sense, as well. Our new Finology Benchmarking Indices (FBI) self assessment tool helps you benchmark your investing biases, beliefs and behaviours versus peers, to further empower your “client care and practice” knowledge and skills. It’s complimentary to our members who give investment advice, while we continue to develop it.
Portfolio Construction Forum | 0.50 CE | Take the FBI self-assessment

Strategies

Convertible bonds must play a dedicated role in portfolios
Live online, 9.00am-9.45am Friday 20 Nov 2020 | 0.75 CE/CPD hour
Heightened equity market risk and negative yielding fixed income securities leaves only hard asset allocation decisions. For investors needing more from their fixed income allocation, global convertible bonds can offer upside that is simply not available in developed sovereign or credit markets. Australian investors have historically underutilised this asset class that can optimise portfolio efficiency and bring powerful diversification benefits. As an instrument, global convertible bonds are balanced with both equity and bond characteristics, offer a specific risk/return profile thanks to their convexity and give an asymmetric pay-off. Global convertible bonds offer a whole new world of opportunity.
Featuring Arnaud Brillois, Lazard Asset Management (New York) |$0 for all Forum members | Register now!

Markets

Markets Summit 2021 “Back to the drawing board” | Mark your Diary - Wed 17 Feb 2021
Established in 2009, Markets Summit is THE investment markets scene setter of the year. Presented in Sydney each February, the face-to-face and online learning program features 20+ leading investment thinkers - geopolitical specialists, economists, market/asset class experts, and investment strategists - from around the world, offering their best high conviction ideas on the drivers of and outlook for the markets (on a three- to five-year view) in the context of the theme - and the implications for portfolios.
Meanwhile “attend” Markets Summit 2020 “Be Alert! High VUCA ahead” on-demand

Certified Investment Management Analyst^® (CIMA^®)

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Markets

China leads again
Just as China led the world in economic recovery in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, it is playing a similar role today. It is a bitter pill for many to swallow.
Stephen Roach, Yale University | Read

Markets | Strategies

Traditional valuation methods are broken
In a world where interest rates are zero or negative, we need new ways of valuing assets. This is a very common refrain and it drives me nuts. It is almost all wrong - and on so many different levels!
Tim Farrelly, farrelly’s Investment Strategy | 2 comments | Read

Philosophy | Investing | As seen at Strategies Conference 2020

ESG fixed income investing is not enough
Unlike ESG investing, impact investing accelerates the allocation of capital to solve the world’s climate and social challenges.
Stephen Fitzgerald, Affirmative Investment Management | 0.50 CE | Watch, Listen

Markets | As seen at Strategies Conference 2020

Globalisation is dead - It IS a whole new world
The Covid-19 crisis has triggered a step change in policy, accelerated trends and transformed investment frameworks. Opportunities will arise out of dislocation – but a more regional view is required.
Paras Anand, Fidelity International | 0.50 CE | Read, Watch, Listen

Markets | Strategies | As seen at Strategies Conference 2020

Markets are underestimating medium-term inflation risks
Post GFC, inflation risk skewed to the downside with central banks fighting against disinflation and deflation – and the market is potentially under-pricing inflation risks going forward.
Mark Kiely, Antares Capital | 0.50 CE | Watch, Listen

Markets

Biden’s economic edge
There have been few US elections with such a discernible difference in the likely quality of the two candidates’ economic policies. In this case, Biden’s are better. Post-war Democratic presidents have been significantly better for the US economy than Republicans have. There is every reason to believe that trend will continue if Biden wins on 3 November.
Jeffrey Frankel, Harvard University | Read

Markets | As seen at Strategies Conference 2020

Washington has changed forever
On 3 November, US voters go to the polls. The presidency will be determined once again by 14 swing states and six of them really matter.
Libby Cantrill, PIMCO | 0.50 CE | Watch, Listen

Markets | As seen at Strategies Conference 2020

We’re at the beginnings of an epic but nominal global bull market
We are at the threshold of an epic bull market buoyed by the emerging Buenos Aires Consensus and desensitisation to Covid-19. But beware, inflation will eventually re-emerge.
Marko Papic, Clocktower Group | 0.50 CE | Read, Watch, Listen

Markets | As seen at Strategies Conference 2020

It’s not a whole new recession in the US
In the US, a durable and economic bottom has formed, and global investors are well-served to re-frame their mindset towards the incipient economic expansion now underway.
Jeff Schulze, ClearBridge Investments | 0.50 CE | Read, Watch, Listen

Finology

Research Review: Cultural distance and investing behaviour
Culture explains much about how we think, feel, and behave. These two papers explore the influence of culture and cultural distance in a financial context.
Rob Hamshar, Portfolio Construction Forum | 1.00 CE | Read

Forum CE Library - over 540 CE/CPD hours
Complimentary for all Forum members, the Forum’s online on-demand CE Library offers over 540 CE/CPD hours of accredited learning resources, to help members meet the CE/CPD requirements of 16 governing bodies (regulators, associations, and institutes)
including ASIC, APRA, FASEA, FMA, AFA, FPA and CIMA^® CE/CPD requirements, to name a few.
Earn CE/CPD hours

Forum CIMA CE Library - over 75 CE hours
This subset of the full Forum CE Library features just those learning resources that are accredited for CIMA CE hours, so CIMA certificants can more easily find learning resources to meet their recertification obligation (at the same time as meeting the CE/CPD requirements of other governing bodies e.g. ASIC, APRA, FASEA, FMA, etc).
Earn CIMA CE hours

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