Markets work.

We believe that publicly available information, as it arises, is quickly incorporated into the prices of assets, such as shares and bonds. Therefore no amount of analysis can give investors or fund managers an edge over all of the millions of other investors who also have access to the same information. So, finding mispriced anomalies while possible, is highly unlikely, especially in today’s climate where technology holds a distinct advantage.

While markets are ‘efficient’, this does not necessarily mean that they are rational, or that they always price assets accurately. In the short term, investments can become over-valued or under-valued. However, over long periods of time, investment prices will eventually and accurately reflect the earnings growth of their underlying assets.

Mix drives performance.

There is strong evidence to suggest that the vast majority of gains (or losses) an investor experiences in a lifetime relate to the ‘asset allocation’ of their investment portfolio, and not the stand-alone individual investments made (like shares or fund managers) or market timing. 

We prefer to focus on variables that we can control, like asset allocation. Knowing your attitude towards risk and volatility, coupled with your investment and lifestyle goals, allows us to construct an investment, superannuation or retirement strategy that financially and emotionally suits each individual client.

Costs matter.

In the drive to achieve better investment results, costs are often ignored or treated as a peripheral issue, but unfortunately costs can significantly erode value over time. Where sensible, we favour using financial products and platforms that deliver sound results over the longer-term, but at a lower cost. Again, sometimes you can’t control investment returns, but you can control costs, and it all adds up.