Alpha. In an investment sense it means how much better your returns were against a specific benchmark. If you were holding an ASX small cap fund and it returned 12% while the ASX small cap index returned 10%, your alpha is 2%. This can also work in reverse. Your fund returns 8% while the index […]
Economic Overview Global equities posted sharp declines in the December quarter, delivering their worst yearly performance in seven years largely on the back of the final three months. The major concerns were global trade, slowing economic growth and the US Federal Reserve’s plans for further interest rate rises. Government bond yields generally fell (prices rose), […]
Economic Overview Economic growth and earnings data remained robust during Q3, and this ultimately overshadowed simmering concerns around the escalating US-China trade war. The US initially targeted $34 billion of Chinese products with a 25% tariff in early July, while monetary policy tightened in the US. Markets were mostly positive in developed countries, but there […]
Economic Overview Global economic data remained encouraging during Q1, though after a long period of relative calm and upward movement volatility again reared its head in equity markets. While towards the end of the quarter the potential for trade wars heated up. In the US, economic data continued to be supportive. US business confidence reached […]
After a period of relative calm in the markets, in recent days the increase in volatility in the stock market has resulted in renewed anxiety for many investors. From February 1–5, the US market (as measured by the Russell 3000 Index) fell almost 6% and in Australia, the S&P/ASX 300 Index fell almost 5% during […]