Issue: 17th September 2021 The September curse strikes again. The S&P/ASX 200 has fallen nearly 2 per cent since the start of the month and is down 3 per cent from a peak a month ago, placing the benchmark on track for its first monthly loss since September last year. The decline comes despite increasingly good [...]

Issue: 3rd September 2021 Next Thursday, the FinSec team head off for our annual offsite. In FinSec terms, this means two constructive days away from the office as a team, workshopping our processes, improving on our client journeys and planning out the year ahead. As our offices back onto the showgrounds, normally, offsite is an escape [...]

Issue: 20th August 2021 U.S. equities traded in a volatile session overnight, as investors assess the Fed’s likely taper later this year, rising cases of COVID-19 and deaths in the U.S. and ongoing pressure on supply chains. Details from the July meeting of the US central bank showed most policymakers judged that it could be appropriate [...]

Issue: 6th August 2021 It's a good time to be in the Australian share market! Despite all the lockdowns, the end of July saw the ASX notch up its 10th consecutive month of gains (a little over 1% in July), equalling its record, and is tipped to deliver a buoyant August earnings season. The most recent [...]

Issue: 23rd July 2021 We started these fortnightly missives to help keep our community informed during last year's lockdown. So much has happened in the 18 months since. Both the economy and markets have staged remarkable recoveries, but here we are faced with a lockdown once again. As we contemplate what to do with ourselves over [...]

Issue: 9th July 2021 The 2021 Intergenerational Report is in. The 2021 Intergenerational Report (IGR) was released on the 28th June revealing the treasurers educated guess at what Australia will look like in 2060. It is a five-yearly reminder that, without action, an ageing population, and other issues will leave public finances looking ugly. To use [...]

Issue: 25th June 2021 On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve released a new set of eagerly anticipated economic projections. The questions on everyone's lips was, of course, inflation - what can we expect? And, interest rates - how soon can we presume to see a rise?The Fed has two mandates: maximize employment and keep prices stable at [...]

Issue: 11th June 2021 Market Update May was a month where every asset class worldwide seemed to be up around 1'ish'% (shares, bonds, commodities etc.). Not the radical gains experienced after the US election and early this year, but an expected pause as markets begin their re-balancing. Historically, when markets travel as fast as they have [...]

Issue: Friday 28th May 2021 It has been a choppy month for equity markets in May. The broad Australian and US indices are on track to finish higher by about 1% and 0.6% respectively after recovering from mid-month lows induced by a sell-off in high valuation tech companies. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has not completely recovered and [...]

Issue: Friday 14th May 2021 The days directly after Budget are arguably more important than Budget day itself. With the Budget announcement out of the way, there is more space to digest and to consider the commitments (particularly their context) - As always, the opinions are partisan, polarising and prolific!! One Australian who seems very happy [...]