Australian consumers are ‘under pressure’
November 2023, 
8 min read
Australian consumers are being squeezed by rising prices, mortgage interest rates and rents. The Reserve Bank of Australia has just added to the burden by raising the cash interest rate by 0.25% to 4.35%. MLC's Senior Economist Bob Cunneen believes the Australian consumer will remain under pressure until inflation is finally nailed down.
Zenith Fund Awards 2023
October 2023, 2 min read
MLC Asset Management has been recognised at the 2023 Zenith Fund Awards once again, winning the Multi Asset - Diversified category and making the final in the Multi Asset - Real Return category.
Zenith Investment Partners review
October 2023, 2 min read
Zenith Investment Partners recently reviewed the IOOF MultiSeries suite of funds, upgrading the suite to ‘Highly Recommended’. We have also retained the ‘Recommended’ rating for IOOF MultiMix, MLC Horizon 3-7, MLC Index Plus and the MLC Inflation Plus suite of funds.
A note from Dan
October 2023, 8 min read
China’s decades-long economic model has seemingly reached its limits. Despite this, potential returns from Chinese shares may be more promising now than in the years when the country’s economy was growing at thumping rates.
Asset allocation playbook for growth in today's markets
18 min watch
In this Livewire Markets interview Chief Investment Officer Dan Farmer shares his macro base case, the art and science of picking good managers, as well as some of the returns he is seeing across a range of asset classes today. He also discusses the appeal of private equity, opportunities in property and outlines his thinking behind the allocations for a hypothetical growth portfolio.
Financial Newswire awards
September 2023, 5 min read
MLC funds have been recognised at the Financial Newswire Fund Manager of the Year Awards 2023 with the MLC Wholesale Horizon 7 Accelerated Growth Portfolio (MLC Horizon 7) taking out the award for Best Multi-sector growth fund. Both the Antares Blue Chip Top 20 – SMA and the Specialist Diversified Fixed Interest Fund received a ‘Highly Commended’ commendation.
Economic and market update
5 min read
Which key events have been driving markets? Read this article by Senior Economist Bob Cunneen to find out.
A note from Dan
August 2023, 11 min read
The shrinking global workforce has been a contributor to inflation. It’s a theme that hasn’t been widely discussed.
2022-23 financial year in review
10 min read
Consumers are being squeezed by high inflation, rising interest rates and tighter credit. While these intense pressures may cause a global recession in the coming year, global share markets have delivered very strong returns for the last financial year, reflecting hopes that any economic downturn should be brief. MLC's Senior Economist Bob Cunneen provides a client-friendly review of what happened in investment markets over the financial year.
Australia’s “painful squeeze”
June 2023, 10 min read
Australians are experiencing tough times. Every trip to the supermarket leaves us leaner and poorer in terms of our purchasing power. While high inflation is clearly a global problem, MLC's Senior Economist Bob Cunneen believes the question needs to be asked: Is the RBA mindful of how dramatic this “painful squeeze” really is?
Three steps to successfully implementing managed accounts
May 2023, 4 min read
On the road to successfully implementing managed accounts, advice practices may experience speedbumps, roadblocks and detours.
Four roadblocks to onboarding managed account clients … and ways to get around them
May 2023, 4 min read
Clients are at the centre of everything an advice practice does, which is why a successful managed account implementation relies on bringing them along the journey from the start. Here are four steps top firms follow to make the onboarding process as smooth as possible.
Three ways to stop taking detours when implementing managed accounts
May 2023, 4 min read
Advisers tell us managed accounts deliver benefits to their clients and their business. So here are their top three tips for making the implementation process as easy as possible.
A fragile and volatile world
March 2023, 10 min read
Global share markets opened the new year with mild optimism that inflation and interest rate risks were becoming more manageable and economic activity was improving. However, a sequence of financial shocks in March have dented this optimism. MLC's Senior Economist Bob Cunneen explains why we seem to be still living in a fragile and volatile world.
With a positive view on Australia, here's how this fund manager is positioned
10 min watch
In this interview Antares Equities, John Guadagnuolo, covers his pick of Australian companies he believes the market is currently undervaluing. He also delves into the macro-outlook and zooms into the company level to discuss his team’s view on markets now and in the years ahead including the Australian companies that are most likely to benefit from the end of China’s COVID-Zero measures.
How to find “explosive growth” stocks outside the ASX 20
6 min watch
How do you find explosive growth stocks outside the ASX 20? In this latest Livewire interview Antares Equities head of fundamentals and senior portfolio manager, John Guadagnuolo discusses why the Antares Ex-20 Australian Equities Fund avoids the 20 largest ASX companies and how the team pinpoints the stocks that are set for growth.
The ASX company result looming largest on Antares’ radar
5 min watch
John Guadagnuolo, head of fundamentals and senior portfolio manager, Antares Equities explains to Livewire how he and the team running the Antares ex-20 Australian Equities Fund see pricing power as one of the key themes for this earnings season. John also describes the team’s strategy for rotating stocks in and out of the portfolio.
2022 calendar year in review
January 2023, 15 min read
The global economy is still threatened by high inflation, rising interest rates and the conflict in Ukraine. Global share markets delivered sharp negative returns in 2022 given these prominent risks. The possibility that a global recession occurs in the coming year suggests investors could remain cautious. MLC's Senior Economist Bob Cunneen provides a review of what happened in investment markets over 2022.
Dividend Builder: Livewire Fund in Focus
10 min watch
Featured on Livewire is the Antares Dividend Builder strategy. In this short video learn more about how the strategy seeks to deliver income and capital growth.
When investing for income, don't get caught looking backwards
6 min read
Andrew Hamilton, Portfolio Manager of the Antares Dividend Builder strategy, recently talked to Livewire Markets about the health of the two big dividend-paying sectors: financials and commodities.
Unpicking the China puzzle: from economic locomotive to handbrake
September 2022, 10 min read
China’s economy matters to the world and is especially important for Australia. As its economy faces headwinds, some of our portfolio managers, and investment partners offer their thoughts on what may lie ahead.
Responsible investing capability bolstered
July 2022, 2 min read
James Tayler has been appointed as Head of Responsible Investing, at Insignia Financial, further strengthening Responsible Investing capability.
How to use the 5-10-15 rule to successfully filter companies
February 2022, 6 min read
Intermede Investment Partners Limited, CEO, Barry Dargan talks to Livewire Markets about the 5-10-15 rule when investing and the ‘network affects’ that set big tech companies apart.
How the right kind of healthcare stock can boost your portfolio
February 2022, 6 min read
Intermede Investment Partners Limited, CEO, Barry Dargan talks to Livewire Markets about healthcare stocks, retail spending and the importance of cashflows.
Our climate change sweet spot
September 2021, 5 min read
Antares Equities Head of Equities and Portfolio Manager Dr Nick Pashias argues that Australian-made “green steel” could become a global industry leader.
Squaring up - the Afterpay merger
August 2021, 15 min read
Antares Equities Dr John Guadagnuolo and Winston Chong argue that the recently announced Afterpay/Square merger could potentially reshape the Australian financial services landscape.
Fund manager Q&A
July 2021, 4 min read
Barry Dargan, CEO and founder of our global equities partner, Intermede Investment Partners, talks to Livewire Markets about selecting stocks in challenging markets.
We're now part of IOOF
May 2021, 4 min read
While it's a big change for us, for our clients it's business as usual.
Private equity through thick and thin
September 2020, 15 min read
Private equity funds, specifically “buyout” PE funds that raised capital on the heels of the dot com bust and the GFC, outperformed listed share markets.
