What the start of this decade has made increasingly clear is that today’s global security environment has become more uncertain, and we are living in a more dangerous world than before. Conflicts in Ukraine and Iran, along with broader geopolitical instability, are reinforcing the need for sustained investment in national defence. We believe this represents a shift from episodic spending cycles toward a more durable, multi-year rearmament phase. The question is no longer whet

If you had the potential opportunity to increase returns while reducing risk, wouldn’t you take it? For investors seeking a steady, income-generating investment that has historically shown far less volatility than other fixed income alternatives, bank loans—also known as leveraged, floating rate and broadly syndicated loans—might be the solution. The asset class has been a dependable source of income and return for investors for decades, delivering attractive performance ac

We view private credit as a potentially valuable component of a diversified portfolio for investors seeking income and long-term capital appreciation. However, it is not a substitute for liquidity, nor is it risk-free. While the asset class can offer attractive income and portfolio diversification benefits, investors need to tread warily given broader risk dynamics and to fully understand said risks vs return prospects. Recent developments have brought private credit back i

It is understandable that households with a mortgage would feel frustrated to see interest rates move higher just as inflation appeared to be easing. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) recent decision to lift rates surprised some observers. From the RBA’s perspective, and for many market watchers, the logic is straightforward. Understanding that logic helps investors frame how portfolios should be positioned from here. Importantly, while higher rates pressure borrowers, th

Markets have a habit of creating confidence just as risks start to shift. 2025 was a good example. Inflation looked beaten. Rate cuts arrived. Asset prices responded accordingly. And yet, by year-end, investors were once again grappling with uncertainty around inflation, policy direction and global stability. As CIO at Mutual Limited, my role is to help translate market complexity into clear, practical guidance for investment team, and where helpful, our clients. For inv

Structured to capitalize on the Artisan Partners Growth Team’s 20-plus years’ experience of growth investing, the Artisan Global Discovery Strategy is a highly flexible portfolio of companies representing some of the team’s best ideas across the global economy. Some key attributes of the strategy include: Unconstrained Market Cap and Geographic Mandates Absent an upper limit on the strategy’s market-cap mandate, the team can stick with its global investment campaigns through

A Best Ideas, Global Growth Portfolio Structured to capitalize on the Artisan Partners Growth Team’s 20-plus years’ experience of growth investing, the Artisan Global Discovery Strategy is a highly flexible portfolio of companies representing some of the team’s best ideas across the global economy. Some key attributes of the strategy include: Unconstrained Market Cap and Geographic Mandates Absent an upper limit on the strategy’s market-cap mandate, the team can stick with it

Amid the resurgence of market volatility from US President Trump’s tariff threats, broader policy uncertainty, and elevated equity market valuations, there is a worthy discussion to be had on whether certain asset classes are providing investors sufficient return relative to their evolving risk profiles. Of course, the asset class in the spotlight is bank stocks. So looking at bank-issued securities, what are the main income options available to retail investors and how do th

After an extremely volatile April, the month of May proved somewhat tame by comparison. While tariff uncertainty persists, risk appetite for the main part was constructive. There were the occasional tariff spot fires, such as Trump announcing a 50% tariff on European goods, but they were promptly paused pending further negotiations.

Media has not been a growth sector for many years as internet and direct-to-consumer models have transformed the sector. Businesses like linear media and music have been fundamentally transformed over the last few decades, and we have seen a lot of historically strong business models come under pressure. That being said, we think that we can find interesting profit cycles even in challenged industries. In the first part of this series, our focus is on Formula One (F1), which

Addressing the Asymmetry in Pay and Performance Executive pay in corporate Australia has continued to climb—often regardless of whether company performance or broader economic conditions justify it. This growing asymmetry between pay and performance is no longer just a governance issue; it raises fundamental questions about alignment, accountability, and long-term value creation. At Chester Asset Management, we’ve developed a practical framework to assess whether executive re

A Best Ideas, Global Growth Portfolio Structured to capitalise on the Artisan Partners Growth Team’s 20-plus years’ experience of growth investing, the Artisan Global Discovery Strategy is a highly flexible portfolio of companies representing some of the team’s best ideas across the global economy. Some key attributes of the strategy include: Unconstrained Market Cap and Geographic Mandates Absent an upper limit on the strategy’s market-cap mandate, the team can stick with it

As we move through the early stages of 2025, I want to highlight a couple of broad themes I think will influence markets through the year.

Bank hybrids are set to die a slow and lingering death in the wake of APRA deeming the securities no longer fit for regulatory purpose.

The main event for November was the US Presidential Election outcome. It was a ‘Red Sweep’ for the Republicans, regaining control of the Sen

When this writer first set about a career in finance we were tasked with uncovering how much each ASX energy company was worth, with little

Trump is president of the US again, his second bite of the cherry after a brief four-year interlude. What could this mean for portfolios?

Stocks saw little movement following the announcement Bonds were muted on the statement, but rallied following the press conference The statement from the RBA remains broadly hawkish, with a focus on core inflation and ignoring false dawns The next meeting in scheduled for November, but it is not expected to be a ‘live’ meeting The September 2024 RBA Monetary Policy meeting was held yesterday. The board elected to leave policy settings unchanged, which was universally expe

The Australian bank regulator, APRA, is proposing to phase out Alternative Tier 1 capital (‘AT1’ or ‘Hybrid’) securities for local banks. As existing AT1 paper reaches its call date, the last being in 2032, banks will be required to replace it with Tier 2 capital. By 2032 bank AT1 securities will cease to exist, which leaves a bit of a hole in retail investors investment universe. In this piece I discuss a couple of viable alternative asset classes to AT1, and a couple of our

Late last year APRA announced it was reviewing whether AT1 securities were fit for purpose as effective loss absorbing capital.