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How Many ETFs Is Too Many? The Diversification vs Dilution Problem

The theory behind diversification makes intuitive sense to most investors: by combining assets that don’t move in perfect synchrony, investors can reduce portfolio volatility without necessarily sacrificing expected returns. This accepted truth reshaped portfolio construction in the twentieth century and continues to underpin institutional allocation frameworks today.

7 Apr 2026
 · 6 MIN READ

What Do Higher Oil Prices Mean for Markets?

Investors have long watched oil prices as a gauge of global inflation, corporate profitability, geopolitical risk, and consumer spending. When it moves sharply in one direction, it’s arguably one of the most heeded signals in the market. When it spikes, the news headlines often predict equity market turmoil. When it collapses, they are more focused on the likelihood of a global recession.

23 Mar 2026
 · 6 MIN READ

How Many ETFs Is Too Many? The Diversification vs Dilution Problem

The theory behind diversification makes intuitive sense to most investors: by combining assets that don’t move in perfect synchrony, investors can reduce portfolio volatility without necessarily sacrificing expected returns. This accepted truth reshaped portfolio construction in the twentieth century and continues to underpin institutional allocation frameworks today.

7 Apr 2026
 · 6 MIN READ

What Do Higher Oil Prices Mean for Markets?

Investors have long watched oil prices as a gauge of global inflation, corporate profitability, geopolitical risk, and consumer spending. When it moves sharply in one direction, it’s arguably one of the most heeded signals in the market. When it spikes, the news headlines often predict equity market turmoil. When it collapses, they are more focused on the likelihood of a global recession.

23 Mar 2026
 · 6 MIN READ

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Time to Diversify: Multi-Asset Investing is Ready to Shine

The concept of diversification has long been foundational to most investment strategies. However, the rise of the Magnificent 7 in recent years seemed to disprove its benefits to large swathes of the global investment community. As a result, millions of investors have been ‘all-in’ on the same trade. That was then and this is now. The world has changed in profound ways since Trump’s inauguration, and markets have been reminded of the benefits of diversification. The stage is surely set for a resurgence in multi-asset investing…

26 Mar 2025
 · 5 MIN READ

Private Credit in the Ascendancy

There aren’t many asset classes which have grown as consistently as private credit in recent years. More and more investors are allocating a portion of their fixed income capital to this fast growing asset class. For good reason. The solid risk-adjusted returns available in private credit provide welcome stability and predictability to investors’ portfolios.

5 Mar 2025
 · 4 MIN READ

Navigating Turbulent Times: A Bond Investor's Perspective

Multifaceted geopolitical and economic tensions threaten to disrupt the delicate balance of the world order. Economic forecasts, once predictable, now fluctuate like erratic cyclonic winds. The threats of recession are delicately balanced with interest rate policies that continue to reduce inflation. The threat of tariffs, like an unexpected frost, is decimating established supply chains, creating trade wars. The slowing growth of China casts a long shadow over commodity prices, easing our local markets into the shade. Finally, we have The Trump Effect, whereby long-held economic and geopolitical policies are being upended to create a new world disorder.  Altogether, there is a deep sense of unease amongst investors. It’s a stark warning that we may be facing significant and unpredictable headwinds in 2025. Hence, many investors want predictability and investment safe havens that provide protection from future storms.

28 Feb 2025
 · Tim Lea
 · 6 MIN READ

Crystal ball gazing at 2025

Happy new year! We hope it’s a healthy and happy one for you. While no one knows exactly what’s coming in the year ahead, most investors will be asking themselves similar questions as the new year begins. For example, will 2025 be a repeat of 2024’s US-led market resilience and euphoria? Or will markets follow a different playbook this year which requires investors to make tactical adjustments? With these questions in mind, it’s time to do our best at crystal ball gazing to help investors make sense of what may be coming in 2025…

31 Dec 2024
 · 12 MIN READ

The fast improving investment case for listed property funds

After a challenging period, the outlook for Australia's interest rate-battered property funds is improving. Stabilising borrowing costs and the prospect of a rate cut next year are paving the way for a market recovery. With attractive valuations and strong income growth, listed property funds invest in portfolios of Australian Real Estate Investment Trusts (or A-REITs) are poised for solid gains, especially as early signs of recovery are emerging across the retail, industrial and office sectors.

5 Dec 2024
 · 6 MIN READ

Agriculture: an overlooked asset class with powerful tailwinds

Most investment portfolios have limited exposure to agriculture, but this under-represented sector is as an attractive asset class, driven by rising global food demand, shrinking arable land, and resource scarcity. While the global trends of population growth and a rising Asian middle class have long supported agricultural demand, supply constraints—exacerbated by the pandemic and geopolitical tensions—have created powerful tailwinds for agricultural investments.

29 Nov 2024
 · 4 MIN READ

The asset allocation secret Howard Marks believes more investors need to understand

Less-young investors may remember the days when asset allocation was as simple as translating your age into a percentage which represented the amount of your portfolio that should be invested in lower risk, fixed income opportunities with the balance to be invested into higher risk assets like equities. How the investment world has changed since those simpler days! Asset allocation has evolved into a more nuanced and complex decision-making process which needs to address a much larger universe of available asset classes, as well as some profound market shifts.

26 Nov 2024
 · 7 MIN READ

The CRED advantage: equity-like returns with the security of debt

With interest rates remaining elevated, commercial real estate debt (CRED) funds have emerged as an increasingly attractive option for investors. Offering stable, income-generating opportunities and attractive, risk-adjusted returns, these funds are gaining ground as one of the fastest-growing segments of the private debt market. Despite challenges in the broader real estate sector, including declining office valuations, structural tailwinds like housing undersupply in key markets, population growth, and the rise of e-commerce and data centres are driving long-term demand for CRED.

22 Nov 2024
 · 5 MIN READ

Four charts that show why the private markets are booming

The rise of private market investing is continuing unabated with more and more individual investors allocating up to 20-25%+ of their portfolios to the asset class. This trend appears set to continue with a growing number of investors who don’t currently have private markets exposure actively considering whether it’s aligned with their investment plan and goals.

18 Nov 2024
 · 4 MIN READ