Read on below for our most recent and past thoughts on Financial Markets and Legislation

It is very important to get advice on any of the following information before making decisions on what is right for you. In some cases the below general information may not be suitable to your circumstances and may even leave you worse off if not approached with the proper level of understanding.

 

November 2023 – Update

Markets 
As many of you will no doubt be aware share markets have not been kind of late. This is the last 3 months here in Australia:

From the above you can see the local market is down almost 8%. This is not unusual fall over this time period. In fact, it is almost as common as not falling at all. Take this graph from the US S & P 500 (index of the American market effectively) for example:

Whilst the above is not the clearest graph, what is showing via the red markers is the fall during the year, whilst the blue lines show how the year actually ended. In the time period from 2001-2021, the US stockmarket experienced a drop during the year of over 10% every second year.

Coming back to the current climate, in the September quarter of 2023, global equity markets saw a significant reversal, wiping out a substantial portion of the June quarter gains in local currency terms. For Australian investors, the weaker Australian dollar helped to cushion the blow. The selloff was quite broad and affected most sectors. The biggest falls were in areas most sensitive to changes in real yields, such as utilities and real estate. Nevertheless, year-to-date, global equities maintained an overall positive trajectory.

At this point in time, we see no need for seismic changes to investment strategy. Many of our portfolios remain relatively cautious, with some cash available to deploy should buying opportunities present. Furthermore, all portfolios remain invested in quality investments, which time and time again, has proven to be the most effective strategy over the medium to long term.

We remain cautious on the outlook and anticipate further bumps in the road over the coming quarters. While the outlook (hard, soft or no landing) continues to be plagued with uncertainty, increased volatility is likely to continue. Overall, we prefer to maintain a defensive stance across the Portfolios, but note that any sharp sell-off could bring with it fresh investment opportunities.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact either myself, Zoe or Leesa.
Regards, Derek