FundMonitors.com

17/04/2026

Markets may be celebrating fresh highs, but the real economy is facing a more difficult reality. This commentary explores the disconnect between Wall Street’s optimism and the growing risks posed by Middle East instability, higher energy prices, stubborn inflation, and slower global growth. For policymakers, including the RBA and the Australian Government, the challenge is becoming increasingly delicate: support growth too much and inflation may worsen; tighten too hard and economic weakness may deepen. Meanwhile, fund returns in Australia suggest that investors closer to the ground are already pricing in the darker side of the story. Even so, periods of dislocation can create compelling opportunities once the dust begins to settle.

Read this week's Hedge Clippings here: https://www.fundmonitors.com/fundnews.php?ContentID=9372&CompanyID=&Title=Hedge+Clippings+%7C17+April+2026&Company=&Fund=

27/03/2026

In this edition of Hedge Clippings, we consider the accountability issues arising from the failures of Shield and First Guardian, and the extent to which responsibility should rest across the financial services distribution chain.

The discussion examines the roles of research houses, dealer groups, platforms, and advisers, while also questioning whether the current issuer-pays research model continues to serve the industry well.

A timely reflection on due diligence, research standards, and where responsibility should properly lie.

Read this week's Hedge Clippings here: https://www.fundmonitors.com/fundnews.php?ContentID=9342&CompanyID=&Title=Hedge+Clippings+%7C27+March+2026&Company=&Fund=

27/02/2026

January’s CPI print offered little comfort, with headline inflation holding at 3.8% and the RBA’s preferred trimmed mean edging higher to 3.4%, raising concerns that inflation in the 3–4% range may be becoming entrenched. At the same time, renewed debate around active versus passive investing highlights that while average fund returns may lag the index in strong markets, top-performing managers continue to demonstrate that careful selection and long-term consistency—not short-term averages—are what truly drive outperformance.

Read this week's Hedge Clippings here: https://www.fundmonitors.com/fundnews.php?ContentID=9287&CompanyID=&Title=Hedge+Clippings+%7C27+February+2026&Company=&Fund=

06/02/2026

The RBA’s latest 0.25% rate increase may have been widely expected, but it raises serious questions about last year’s rate cuts and the sharp reversal in market forecasts since.

In our latest video, recorded immediately after Michele Bullock’s media briefing, Nicholas Chaplin (Seed Funds Management) and Renny Ellis (Arculus Funds Management) explain why they opposed the 2025 cuts long before hindsight set in — and what the outlook now means for borrowers and markets.

Read this week's Hegde Clippings here:

This is a "backend page" used to link news items to the fund profile insights tab. Please don't delete. And it needs to be live.

19/12/2025

Digital asset funds may be this year’s weakest performers – down around 13% to the end of November – but one year should never define an asset class. Over seven years, digital strategies are still up nearly 50%, outpacing most equity peer groups, while equities themselves have enjoyed three very strong years. As we move towards 2026, the real question is whether the equity rally can continue – and whether portfolios are genuinely diversified when the cycle inevitably turns.

Full Hedge Clippings commentary below.

Wishing everyone a safe, restful, and happy holiday season.

This is a "backend page" used to link news items to the fund profile insights tab. Please don't delete. And it needs to be live.

05/12/2025

We joined industry leaders in the Blue Mountains for Conexus Financial’s Researcher Forum, where conflict of interest dominated discussions following the Shield and First Guardian failures. With ASIC signalling legal action and further regulation, and Morningstar shifting to a “pay to play” model, the sector may be entering a watershed moment. Hedge Clippings continues to hold that the “issuer pays” model remains fundamentally conflicted.

Read this week's Hedge Clippings here:

This is a "backend page" used to link news items to the fund profile insights tab. Please don't delete. And it needs to be live.

21/11/2025

A look at global monetary policy shows both the RBA and the US Federal Reserve preparing for December meetings with little expectation of immediate rate cuts. In Australia, a hold in December appears almost certain unless next week’s CPI surprises. In the US, market confidence in a cut has tumbled from near certainty to a slim chance, despite political pressure on Jerome Powell—who seems determined to defend the Fed’s independence as his term nears its end.

Meanwhile, equity markets tell a very different story, with mounting concern over stretched tech-sector valuations and growing debate about whether “this time is different.” The sentiment feels familiar, and the chartbook comparisons are starting to look unnervingly similar.

Read this week's Hedge Clippings here:

This is a "backend page" used to link news items to the fund profile insights tab. Please don't delete. And it needs to be live.

31/10/2025

Australia’s September-quarter CPI jumped 1.3% q/q and 3.2% y/y—not exactly the Cup Day news markets were hoping for. With services and energy still driving inflation, the RBA looks set to hold rates next Tuesday (4 November), pushing any cuts further into 2025.

This week’s Hedge Clippings also features two new videos—expert insights on the RBA’s next move, and manager perspectives on how market trends are shaping portfolio strategies.

Meanwhile, NVIDIA’s market cap has surged past US$5T as Jensen Huang’s latest keynote highlights how AI continues to reshape the global growth story.

Read this week's Hedge Clippings here:

This is a "backend page" used to link news items to the fund profile insights tab. Please don't delete. And it needs to be live.

17/10/2025

A Week Jim Chalmers Would Rather Forget

It’s been a bruising week for Treasurer Jim Chalmers. A backflip on the proposed tax on unrealised superannuation gains, a public rebuke from the Reserve Bank Governor, and fresh signs that the economy is slowing, all arriving at once.

Michelle Bullock’s warning that government spending is rising faster than national income highlights growing tension between fiscal and monetary policy, just as unemployment edges up and inflation refuses to fade.
For a government that’s built its story around “responsible economic management,” the numbers and the narrative are starting to slip.

Timing, as ever in politics, is everything.

Read full Hedge Clippings here:

This is a "backend page" used to link news items to the fund profile insights tab. Please don't delete. And it needs to be live.

03/10/2025

The RBA kept rates steady this week at 3.60% – no surprises there. But with inflation edging up and Cup Day looming, relief for borrowers still looks a way off.

Meanwhile, in the US, Trump’s tariffs and a government shutdown that’s already dragging on are leaving the Fed flying blind without fresh data. And when central banks are flying blind, that’s when investors should fasten their seatbelts.

Read this week’s Hedge Clippings for the full take.

This is a "backend page" used to link news items to the fund profile insights tab. Please don't delete. And it needs to be live.

05/09/2025

The economy managed a 0.6% rebound in the June quarter, lifting annual growth to 1.8%. That’s better than the March wash-out, but full-year growth of 1.3% is hardly champagne stuff.

For the RBA, the story is unchanged. With only August’s monthly CPI due before the September meeting, the real test will come with the September quarter inflation figures, due 29 October. That makes Cup Day in November the first genuine chance for a rate cut, if inflation co-operates.

Until then it’s more holding pattern than rate relief. Borrowers and markets will be waiting for the big race — and not just the one at Flemington.

Read this week's Hedge Clippings here: https://www.fundmonitors.com/fundnews.php?ContentID=8963&CompanyID=&Title=Hedge+Clippings+%7C05+September+2025&Company=&Fund=