Author: Paul Grace

2022: What Mattered?

A cursory glance at the scorecard would lead you to believe this year in markets could be met with a yawn. Yet those that lived through it know that 2022 was anything but a “yawn”.

Wearing golden shoes

Good decision, good outcome? Not necessarily. We take a look at the poker world for some insights into decision-making.

Time takes over

What mattered this week? Another takeover. And a big one at that. Origin Energy has received a takeover offer at a considerable (50%+) premium.

Out of the oven

Patience is a resource that is becoming relatively scarce in capital markets. We recently received good news about a long-standing position in this portfolio: HoldCo.

“Gilty” as charged

The Australian market fell by a whopping 8% over the past two weeks. However, it’s set to end the week higher than it began.

We try to draw some lessons from a wild, but ultimately uneventful few weeks in markets.

Stage 5?

Better than feared. That’s how several analysts have described the August reporting season in 2022.

We wrap up this year’s Profit Reporting Season as we ponder the outlook for 2023.

Profit Reporting Season Wrap

Better than feared. That’s how several analysts have described the August reporting season in 2022.

We wrap up this year’s Profit Reporting Season as we ponder the outlook for 2023.

Ruling off FY-22

The last week of company profit reports proved to be as busy as the week that preceded it.

We detail results from PointsBet, Aurelia Metals, Costa Group and Perpetual amongst others.

Raining Results

With Profit Reporting season ramping up, we switch our focus to reports from clients’ companies.

Becoming expensive (to stay expensive)

A reserved Matt Comyn fronted the market on Tuesday as CBA released its profit result for FY-22. The numbers presented shed some more light on the challenges that lie ahead for the banking sector.

Infection, inflation, inflection

This Profit Reporting Season is unique, in that occurs at a time when we are standing on the fulcrum of a seesaw. We explore what’s in focus during this year’s Profit Reporting Season.

Yanny or Laurel?

We find ourselves in a curious position where markets are moving wildly from data point to data point, speech to speech and editorial to editorial.

Coming Together

If the big four were likened to another big four (the Beatles), it would be safe to say that ANZ has been a shoo-in for Ringo (over the last few years).

Charting consumer confidence

If you are feeling a little uneasy about the Australian economy, you are not alone.
Recent surveys indicate Australians are increasingly worried about the outlook for the domestic economy.

We take a walk down a chart-filled page to see what exactly consumers are fretting over and how this is influencing behaviour.

Defining the odds

We discuss the odds for the latest addition to the Australian Equities sub-portfolio – PointsBet.
Also, this week: We catch up on Company News for the weeks gone by.

Getting your investments in order

An investor’s greatest hurdle can sometimes be: the investor. We look at how the math of how when you transact can be as important as what you transact.

Going with the flow

Imagine underestimating how important breathing is. But for decades we did. Clients’ investment in Fisher and Paykel asks are we once again underestimating its importance?

Sell first (ask questions later…)

Billion-dollar companies have disappointed the market. We question whether in the midst of uncertainty, investors’ timeframes are being truncated.

Confirmation, confession and celebration

In May there’s a window where this year’s profit numbers are almost tallied. CFOs and CEOs alike look nervously up at the scoreboard asking: are we about to meet market expectations? 

De-equitisation

While the headlines are vocal about shortages across industries they have been silent about the reducing pool of investible, large companies in the Australian market.

Mayday(s)

Mayday Cover

There’s an old adage in Australian investing that says: “investors should sell in May and go away”. Though the statistical basis for this may be dubious, the naysayers of this market myth would have been very wrong this year.

Quarterly Reporting: out of the frying pan…

For some, the last quarter of 2021-22 represented a reprieve, as operations went back to “business as usual”. For others, it was a case of out of the Omicron frying pan, into the inflationary fire.

Choosing to go private

Is another stalwart about to disappear from the ASX?
We look at the proposal that may see Ramsay Healthcare “go private”.

EarlyPay: the Buffet Scenario

Warren Buffet often says you should invest like “[they] could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years”.
We hop in a time machine back to play out this scenario when looking at EarlyPay’s performance.

Emerging value in an old name

While Seven may remind readers of aging media empires, entertainment is but a tiny part of Seven Group, which we purchased for clients last week. Here’s why.

Payment FastTracked

FastTrack is not a household name, but it delivered a great outcome. One of the benefits of being nimble in seeking investment opportunities.

And on the Fourth day, a Turning

With Russia’s incursion into Ukraine, there has been more of the volatility we have become accustomed to this year. While all eyes are on Kyiv, we look beyond the immediate horizon.

Beating expectations

We are almost half-way into Profit Reporting Season and so far, results across the market have been above analysts’ expectations. And this despite the notorious optimism of most analysts.

1H-22: it’s at the margin

And just like that, February profit reporting season has begun. We had hoped that FY-22 would present a more ‘normal’ picture of earnings. That has been upended by a now-infamous letter of the Greek alphabet.

The perils of index investing

The Index Portfolio is a simple beast, with only one strict mandate: track the market. Investors often forget that this ‘single minded’ focus may lead to perverse outcomes.