The failure of traditionally active investing approaches is gaining increasing attention in the mainstream media. This comprehensive feature from The Christchurch Press in New Zealand cites the success several local advisors have had by implementing the Fama/French research in their own businesses.
Click here for the full article.
The market downturn has again dispelled the myth that active managers outperform in bear markets, according to updated research by Standard & Poor’s. The S&P study found active funds trailed their benchmarks over the last five years across major equity and fixed interest asset classes.
Read the full article from The Sydney Morning Herald here.
History has shown that dollar-cost averaging as an investment strategy in shares - particularly during bear markets - results in portfolios that are worth more. How? Well, there are a couple of tips you need to follow. (more…)
It’s spring in the northern hemisphere and the changed conditions in global markets are attracting much attention. While no-one knows whether these “green shoots” will last, they are a good reminder of how quickly the investment climate can change. (more…)
Following a rough start to 2009 and some of the toughest economic conditions in recent history, BT Chief Economist Chris Caton gives his views on what he’s expecting this year in the webcast link below, including:
Although it’s early days – and the financial crisis is certainly continuing – encouragingly, some key signposts to global economic-recovery are showing tentative signs of improvement. So with that in mind, is it too early to bargain hunt for investments? (more…)
Think you approach your investments logically? Research shows investors can sabotage their investment strategy based on several types of behaviour, including a ‘herd mentality’ and emotion. Knowing how and why you can sabotage your investment strategy gives you a stronger understanding of how to avoid it.
A long list of wealthy investors both in the US and abroad have been shocked to learn that Bernard L. Madoff, a prominent and well-respected broker and money manager, has been accused of orchestrating one of the most extensive investment frauds in US history. So what is a Ponzi Scheme and what happened? (more…)
“Prediction is very difficult, especially if it is about the future.”
So said the Danish physicist Niels Bohr, whose ground-breaking work in quantum mechanics and atomic structure earned him a Nobel Prize in 1922.
The truth contained in Bohr’s cheeky observation is highlighted every year in the prognostications of market economists – but no more so than in 2008. (more…)
The economies
The start of 2009 sees all the big economies – the US, Europe, China – in slowdown mode. This is a flow-on from the ‘credit crunch’ which has made it much harder for companies and individuals to get credit. Consequently this is affecting consumer spending and hurting sharemarkets because consumers aren’t buying at the level expected by companies and so their profit outlook – and their share prices – are falling. (more…)
