News Updates
AS IT HAPPENS
Selling a small business can be a challenging, complicated and uncertain time. So too can retiring. Combine the two and you have a situation where early planning and advice is critical. Retiring from Small Business
For more information, contact Rick Maggi at Westmount Financial on 9382 8885.
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
Why don't the media run more good news? One view is bad news sells. If people preferred good news, the media would supply it. But markets don't see news as necessarily good or bad. Read on
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
In this article, AMP Capital's Dr Shane Oliver discusses what is on everyone's mind lately, the strong possibility of an interest rate hike in December. Is this something that should be feared or celebrated? Read more here
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
The Standard & Poors scorecard, which compares active manager investment performance with index fund performance is here, and the results further validates Westmount's investment philosophy - great news for our clients. Read more here
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
As broadly expected, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) decided to hold off a little longer and keep interest rates steady today.
While there is a general consensus out there that the RBA stands ready to cut interest rates in the future should the Australian economy remain sluggish, the RBA wants to see more economic data filter through the system as some parts of the Australian economy are actually showing signs of life. And if the economy continues to gradually improve, the RBA will be less likely to move on rates (a good thing).
So in short, the RBA, by it's language today, is effectively saying that conditions are by no means ideal, but good enough for now.
Of course, the RBA will also be looking over its shoulder to the US, where interest rates are widely expected to rise either this or early next year.
We'll keep Westmount clients informed of any new developments going forward.
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
Australian housing remains overvalued, and the Sydney and Melbourne markets, in particular, appear to be cooling. Property investors need to be careful going forward as price falls of around 5-10% are expected in the coming year or two - a potential problem for highly indebted property owners. Read more here
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
Following steep overnight falls in Europe and the US, today our own market followed suit, with the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index down a hefty 195.1 points, or 3.82 per cent, to 4,918.4 points.
So far this quarter, local markets have fallen by just over 9 per cent. So with just one day left in the quarter, it is likely to be the worst period for investors since the third quarter of 2011, when the market fell 13 per cent amid an economic crisis in Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain.
This time however, the explanation is an easy one to understand – China’s slowing economic growth. Over the September quarter, and especially the past two months, China's manufacturing sector has come under severe pressure.
With iron ore prices flat lining over the quarter, oil prices down and the price of copper in free-fall, it’s easy to understand why Australia’s resource sector, which is heavily dependent on demand from China, is experiencing the perfect storm.
Remember, copper is viewed as a baseline for the health of the Chinese economy because it is used heavily in industrial building, housing construction and technology.
AMP Capital's head of portfolio management Debbie Alliston said China is the key factor in plunging share prices. "Markets are reacting to fears that this going to slow global growth significantly, particularly for those countries that are reliant on Chinese demand," she said.
Weakness in the Australian banking sector, amid moves by regulators to slow lending to property investors amid soaring Sydney and Melbourne home prices, has also weighed on the share market.
On top of that are the usual worries about the timing of a US Federal Reserve interest rate hike.
But Ms Alliston said members of superannuation funds with investments in a range of assets should not panic about the market's downturn, and sit tight instead. "This is definitely not another GFC," she said.
According to another analyst, the market's heavy fall has “Australian shares looking cheap, and stock valuations are probably near the point of luring buyers back into the market, especially with interest rates set to remain low.”
We'll keep Westmount clients updated on any important developments.
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
This update is published by Westmount Financial/Westmount Securities Pty Ltd (ABN 42 090 595 289/AFSL 225715). It is intended to provide general information only and does not take into account any particular person’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of this, you should, before acting on any information in this document, speak to us and/or a taxation/finance professional.
Produced by Russell Investments, I'm afraid to say that this particular illustration, going back to August 1984, brings back many, many memories. Worth a quick look. View Here
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
At the time of writing, the Australian share market (ASX200) has fallen by 13% since the highs of February this year, much of this occurring over the last couple of months. It also seems that the usual doomsayers have been working overtime, doing their level best to frighten investors into either subscribing to their alarmist newsletters, buying their books or engage investment services. On the other side of the spectrum you have some perennially optimistic fund managers and financial advisers who prefer to bury their heads in the sand, refusing to acknowledge that the landscape has changed.
Of course, the truth is usually somewhere in between, and very few commentators strike the right balance better than AMP Capital's Dr Shane Oliver. In this article, Dr Oliver provides a calm, balanced, 'grown-up' perspective of the recent share market falls, and their place in history. As usual, this publication is a must for anxious retirees and investors. Read more here
Also, read 9 rules for investors to keep in mind
Going forward from here, Westmount clients will continue to be kept apprised of the latest important developments, in real time, good news, or bad.
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
The Reserve bank board met on Tuesday 1 September and kept official interest rates on hold at 2%, continuing to assess the impact of the two rate cuts earlier in the year.
Lack of business investment No doubt the RBA board would have discussed at length current weak commodity prices impacting our national income, the lack of business investment as well as two key developments that arose earlier in August. These include the recent devaluation of the Chinese currency and the weak Australian unemployment report.
Unemployment rate Previous RBA commentary indicated it considered the unemployment rate profile was around 6%. However the other key development in August was that the unemployment rate jumped to 6.3%. A higher unemployment rate is also a catalyst for an inflation downgrade, due to weak wages growth.
Business conditions and confidence The NAB business confidence survey for August pared back the post Budget gains, however both conditions and confidence are suggesting a turnaround in the non-mining economy, with conditions varying greatly across industries. The confidence index is still positive and holding around average levels.
Macquarie Bank is of the view that the combination of the Chinese currency devaluation, a weakening labour market and excess capacity in the economy all support the case for a further rate cut in November. The next RBA board meeting will be held on Tuesday 6 October.
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
The decline in interest rates to historic lows in recent years has led to anxiety among Australian investors about what will happen to their fixed interest holdings when overnight interest rates begin to rise.
This apprehension is based on the conventional view that longer-dated bonds underperform in this type of rising interest rate environment.
Dr Steve Garth provides another perspective in Cuffelinks.
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
DFA's VP Jim Parker weighs in on the latest market volatility. As always, Jim's 'Outside the Flags' issue is worth a quick read. Read here.
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
The rout continues
Following a 3.5 percent sell-off on Wall St last Friday night, local and Asian markets continued to shed hard won gains with China leading the way, falling 8.5 percent in just one day. For some background on what has been happening, please read my previous note (Market Update 1 - 21 Aug 2015). For an updated viewpoint Read more here from Russell Investments.
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
This update is published by Westmount Financial/Westmount Securities Pty Ltd (ABN 42 090 595 289/AFSL 225715). It is intended to provide general information only and does not take into account any particular person’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of this, you should, before acting on any information in this document, speak to us and/or a taxation/finance professional.
Sometimes it helps to take look the world through an unconventional perspective when thinking about the size of things.
So here’s a pretty awesome map from Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Chief Investment Strategist Michael Hartnett that shows the world according to free-float equity market capitalisation in billions of dollars measured by the MSCI.
The US, with a market cap of $US19.8 trillion, is the biggest and represents 52% of the world’s market cap. Japan is in second place at $US3 trillion, followed by the UK at $US2.7 trillion, and then France at $US1.3 trillion.
Notably, Hong Kong’s market cap is nearly the same size of China (both of which are significantly smaller than countries like the US and Japan).
Meanwhile, Russia, which has a bigger surface area than Pluto, is about the same size as Finland in terms of market cap.
Check out the whole map below.
Rick MaggiWestmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
Since April, local share markets have been extremely volatile to say the least, gradually drifting lower by about 10% (as of today). Other markets have also fared poorly, e.g. Chinese shares -32%, Asian shares (ex Japan) -18%, Emerging market shares -18% and Eurozone shares -13%. Even the US share market, which has been relatively stable during this period has given back about 6%.
What's happening?
First the backdrop. It should be recognised that the seasonal pattern for shares typically sees rougher conditions over the period May to November, consistent with the old saying "sell in May and go away, buy again on St Leger's Day" (a UK horse race in September).
So with this typically difficult May-November period as our blank canvas, consider the following list of worries...
Greece: Between April and June the immediate, highly publicised concern was, understandably, Greece. Thankfully, the emotional charge surrounding Greece and the Eurozone has, at least for now, greatly subsided, with the general agreement to a third bailout program. Of course, we could see a small flare-up again with today's news of a snap Greek election.
China: More importantly, bubbling away in the background, have been legitimate concerns about China's slowing economy, and the impact this might have on the global economy, particularly commodity reliant countries like Australia. These worries have come to the fore in recent weeks in response to soft Chinese economic data, fuelled by China's recent decision to devalue their currency - an unpopular move, but I suspect a positive in the long run - what's good for China generally helps Australia.
It should also be noted that before China's share market 'crash' of 30%, the Shanghai Index had risen by over 250% in just the previous two years. And this phenomenon is not new. In 2007/2008, the Shanghai Index rose 90%, only to fall 70%. So I believe the takeaway here is to not read too deeply into the Chinese share market.
Commodities: Commodities were already in a secular bear market, reflecting a surge in supply and price upswing during the 'boom' years. Slowing growth in China and the rising trend in the value of the $US only adds further pressure on commodities and Australia's challenged resource sector.
Unfortunately slowing growth in China and its subsequent currency devaluation has also put further pressure on already weak emerging market economies, which these days represent more than 50% of world GDP. Emerging economies really do 'matter'.
US interest rates heading-up: The combination of slower growth in China, falling commodity prices, weakness in the emerging world and the fragility of growth in developed countries indicates that inflation will not be a problem for a while yet. Just the same, the US Federal Reserve appears to be heading towards a rate hike soon and this is creating intense uncertainty - markets don't like uncertainty.
Is it a correction or something worse?
While it's certainly no fun, periodic sharp falls in the range of 5% to even 20% are actually quite normal and healthy. Of course, it becomes more concerning if the rising trend in share prices gives way to a declining trend and a new bear market sets in.
But as Sir John Templeton once observed "bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on scepticism, mature on optimism and die of euphoria". There seems to be a lot of scepticism out there. Shares are simply not seeing the sorts of conditions that normally precede a new cyclical bear market: shares are not generally overvalued; they are not over loved by investors; and low interest rates are likely to remain for quite some time.
Of course, this update hasn't taken you particularly circumstances into account, therefore, if you need personal advice speak to us, or contact your financial adviser.
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
This update is published by Westmount Financial/Westmount Securities Pty Ltd (ABN 42 090 595 289/AFSL 225715). It is intended to provide general information only and does not take into account any particular person’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of this, you should, before acting on any information in this document, speak to us and/or a taxation/finance professional.
Every year, fund manager Vanguard produce a graphical, chronological 'snapshot' of the performance of local and international sharemarkets, property, cash and bonds, along with significant news events of the day. Always worth a look. Read more here
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
The Chinese share market has fallen dramatically in recent months. So what does this mean for you? Read more here
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
As generally expected, the "No" vote won the day, with over 60% of Greeks rejecting further 'austerity' measures. So clearly it's back to the negotiating table, for now. So what does this mean for investors going forward. Read more here
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
As house prices rise and/or when economic activity slows, the inevitably cries for tax reform can be heard from both sides of politics. This note focuses on the debate around the four major "tax concessions" in Australia - negative gearing, capital gains tax discounts, dividend imputation and, of course, superannuation. Read more here
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
Where are we headed?
As local markets slide and interest rates fall, it would be easy to assume that Australia's fortunes have taken a sudden turn for the worst. That would be a mistake. Read more here
Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.
