ETFs

Are we nearing the top of the interest rate cycle? Perhaps. One sign that might suggest we are close was this week’s announcement of October’s retail sales rates. Rates declined unexpectedly with spending down 0.2%, when it was projected to increase by 0.6%, perhaps a signal that the RBA’s cash...

Returns on investments just keep getting lower. As cashed-up investors look to alternative investments, fixed income funds have been beneficiaries. Fortunately, some funds have been sympathetic to investors’ plight and the need for income and dropped fees accordingly. However, others persist with a high fee agenda, are the fees worth...

One of the greatest advantages to ETFs is their liquidity. In fact, even when there isn’t a great volume of ETFs being traded on the exchange at a point in time, the ‘open-ended’ nature of ETFs mean that they should still be at least as liquid as the underlying...

An ETF is an open-ended investment fund, similar to a traditional managed fund, that is traded on the ASX – just like any share. ETFs aim to closely track the performance of a given index or asset class and provide the returns of that index or asset class –...

The fixed income asset class covers a broad range of investments: deposits, bonds, hybrids and securitised investments such as asset backed securities and residential mortgage backed securities. Eight reasons to consider investing in some of the fixed income securities listed above: Diversification – you can access governments, companies and investments...

What is a bond? Companies often need to raise external funds to grow. There are two ways they can do this: Raise equity by issuing shares Take on debt by borrowing money Practically all companies use banks to borrow, but companies can also by-pass the banks and borrow from investors by...