Good for advisers, good for clients
In the same way that investors have sought increased control of their finances in recent years - becoming more risk-averse and more concerned about corporate transparency - the ripple effects of the global financial crisis have also been felt in the philanthropic community.
July 01, 2011
Bringing clients peace of mind
When asked, many planners say their goal is to bring their clients peace of mind. Is this what you wish to achieve for your clients? The only way for this to happen is if there was stress and suffering in the first place.
July 01, 2011
The no man’s land of low tracking error and benchmark awareness
One of the most obvious trends post GFC has been the enormous flow and/or switch from active management to passively managed (index) investment products To be fair, money flows from actively managed funds to passively managed funds is a common trend after significant market “corrections” as investors and advisers lose faith in active managers in a negative return environment
July 01, 2011
Investors will come back to commercial property. But not yet.
Superannuation funds will come back to direct commercial property investment…eventually As will the rest of the investment community I view commercial, and in particular office, property as a low risk/high return investment.
June 01, 2011
Why ‘I want to’ is more valuable than ‘I have to’
Have you ever considered segregating your client base according to “Type One: I have to” clients and “Type Two: I want to” clients? Type One clients are the clients who use your service because they have a sense of obligation.
June 01, 2011
Resistance levels aren’t futile, but they do evolve
With the S&P/ASX 200 Index having been range-bound from August 2009 to the time of writing (early May) there has been lots of talk of resistance and support levels - the stuff of technical analysts and their followers I do not subscribe to technical analysis either, but one of my measures for reading the market can be thought of as having evolving resistance and support levels.
June 01, 2011
Take baby steps: gifting shares and dividends
The initiation into philanthropy doesn't always have to be a giant leap ShareGift Australia and Investing in Hope are two initiatives that can be mentioned casually during meetings The former accepts shares as donations and the latter accepts dividends.
June 01, 2011
CTAs as portfolio diversifier
Commodity Trading Advisors are better used as portfolio diversifiers than employed as a mechanism to produce strong returns CTAs manage clients’ assets by employing a proprietary trading system. Position sizes are generally small (0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent), protective stops are generally used, and most portfolios are typically globally diverse across multiple markets (generally up to 50).
June 01, 2011
Diversifying through hedge funds
The US equity market has climbed almost 100 per cent from its lows of March, 2009. But over the past 10 years, the market has returned only 3 per cent a year - with considerable volatility.
May 12, 2011
Testing the suitability of conventional investment horizons
While our analysis largely supports conventional investment horizons, investors should remember that holding an investment for the suggested timeframe gives an increased likelihood of generating a positive return, but does not guarantee it. Conventional investment horizon theory suggests that an appropriate holding period for cash is typically less than one year Fixed interest is at least a medium-term investment
May 01, 2011
What your clients really value
Understanding what's valuable to a client will enable you to position your value proposition accordingly Have you ever asked your client, “what are your five highest values” When you know your client’s internal values, they know you know something about them that not many people do.
May 01, 2011
Property – it’s all the same. Isn’t it?
We in the property advice business experience exactly the same tribulation Of course, the first distinction to be drawn is that between commercial property and residential property - and it’s quite a distinction
May 01, 2011
