A study by Cambridge University suggested that a ‘bad news day’ increased magazine circulation by as much as 30% and a ‘good news day’ resulted in a 66% decrease in readership – the latter being online material.

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The markets continue to look like Louis Vuitton – where the glamorous and sparkly are eye-wateringly priced compared to the ordinary. Wealth inequality means an increasing percentage of the population will baulk at the ridiculous price of anything, and the same should apply to stock prices.

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Another week and yet another big four bank making national headlines – a positive this week! The big four have indeed come under considerable media scrutiny over the last 12 – 24 months. Some of this is possibly warranted and some……well it sells newspapers.

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The start of each year ushers in a new series of opportunities, challenges and a continuation of past themes.

Calendar year 2017 will be no exception.

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In the last few weeks as we have had discussions with clients about investment markets and their portfolios, it has been difficult not to allow the conversion to drift into areas that are concerning investors, which has been highlighted recently in the media. After all, bad news sells and good news is, well nice!

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In the past couple of days we have witnessed the power that global Federal Reserves have over our markets. In particular, the US Federal Reserve’s decision to increase (or hold) interest rates has become the subject of intense market speculation and volatility, which has impacted share markets, bond markets and currency, globally. 

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Having recently returned from a trip to Europe, I was able to witness firsthand some of the impacts that a slowing of global growth and negative interest rates (to name two) can have on investment markets and an economy in general.

When I read that the Future Fund is in negotiations with the Federal Government to lower and adjust the longer term investment return targets of this $120 billion investment vehicle, the tag line of ‘lower for longer’ starts to repeat itself.

Additionally, there have also been many non-financial events around the world that will challenge us, maybe not all directly financial, but that will test us none the same.

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n a shock for financial markets which had been increasingly confident that Britain would vote to Remain in the European Union, a victory for the Leave outcome by 52% to 48% triggered an abrupt bout of “risk off” in financial markets late last week. I suspect it was probably also a shock to many Brits themselves some of whom seem to be going through a bit of Bregret (thinking they were just delivering a protest vote against the establishment and assumed that Remain would win anyway). Of course, it wasn’t a good week for Europe either. This note tries to put it all in perspective.

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t is certainly an interesting time for markets. As we have flagged in previous editions of the IOR our expectation has been that markets will be characterised by increasing levels of volatility and subdued growth. This has been the case when we reflect on the first half of 2016 which started off with a bang with markets falling on the back of uncertainty surrounding the Chinese market followed by a rebound in the oil and copper price which was positive for markets. This has been coupled with external factors such as the direction the US election will take, increased tension in the South China Sea and offcourse the prospect of the UK leaving the EU or ‘Brexit’ all contributing to market volatility.

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With global economic growth forecasts being revised downwards, global interest rates at all-time lows, the insatiable appetite for yield, some might argue, has become more desperate.

This of course is by no means a new story, but one that should be monitored closely.

At Financial Keys we believe that it is a sound business and investment principal to occasionally and selectively challenge the status quo.

Let’s take for example, Australian company payout ratios and their dividends, one area that many investors expect and follow without question.

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Today Shane Oliver looks at the case for a bear market and what this might mean for markets and investor returns. The one message however that we would be keen to get out, is we all need to do our very best to avoid the current noise.

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Equity markets rebounded in October after a market correction in the September quarter. Volatility eased after the US Federal Reserve (the Fed) delayed the first rate hike and the European Central Bank (the ECB) implied it would expand its QE program in December. Chinese monetary policy was also eased during the month. In Australia, the RBA retains a ‘glass half full’ view on the economy and seems to be on hold in the short term, with an easing bias if growth continues to disappoint.

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An increase in risk aversion swept through global financial markets in the September 2015 quarter. Equity markets retreated, commodity prices fell, government bond yields tightened and credit spreads widened. It is hard to pinpoint a single catalyst but the most obvious negative news was the continued slowdown in China and the apparent bungling of the Chinese authorities in its attempt to halt a sliding Shanghai share market. But the increase in risk aversion was not just about China, there are also concerns about slowing global growth generally, particularly in emerging economies.

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What type of investor are you? Are you as rational as you think you are? When it comes to investments we often behave quite strangely and to our own detriment. The field of study that focuses on this important area is behavioural finance and understanding the basics might just help you to avoid some classic traps.

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In the financial advice world, there are several ‘moving parts’, that when brought together, form the basis for a sound financial planning outcome.

One key component is ensuring that the investment recommendations provided to clients incorporate investments that are spread across a diverse selection of underlying investments, broadly in line with the client’s risk profile (i.e. their attitude to loss of capital and underperforming a specific benchmark).

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