Chief Executive Officer of Montgomery Investment Management, David Buckland has over 40 years of industry experience.
David is a deeply knowledgeable and highly experienced financial services executive. Prior to joining Montgomery in 2012, David was CEO and Executive Director of Hunter Hall for 11 years, as well as a Director at JP Morgan in Sydney and London for eight years.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), our federal government employees received an average 7.2 per cent increase in the cash component of the wages bill to $43.8 billion, in Fiscal 2026.
Over the four years to June 2026, the cash salaries for our federal government employees have increased by 35.2 per cent, or a compound annual 7.8 per cent. Meanwhile, the annual change in employee numbers has increased by 14.7 per cent, or a compound annual 3.5 per cent. Continue…
I notice the Community and Public Service Sector Union (CPSU) representing 200,000 of our handsomely paid Commonwealth bureaucrats have rejected a three-year 9 per cent offer and instead have countered with a 15 per cent increase, in addition to many new conditions including a four-day working week trial, more annual leave and safeguards against artificial intelligence (AI) driven job losses. Continue…
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Following four cash rate increases commencing in February 2026, it looks likely that Melbourne Cup Day will see the fifth increase in nine months, potentially taking the cash rate to 4.85 per cent, the highest rate since 2008. Continue…
I just returned from an inspiring presentation on artificial intelligence (AI) by Alan Finkel AO, Australia’s Chief Scientist from 2016 to 2020, only to read that the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) 2,200 staff had rejected a 9.5 per cent pay rise, over three years. The proposal included a 3.5 per cent increase in the first year, followed by a 3.0 per cent increase in each of the next two years.
Together with the Head Office renovation, now expected to cost $1.2 billion, this seems like a “joke”, particularly when we consider that total RBA staff numbers have increased by around 800, or 57 per cent, over the past five years. And this doesn’t include the RBA’s fiscal 2025/26 accounting loss of A$8.5 billion on the unrealized value of its government bond and foreign exchange portfolio. Continue…
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard the expression, “Australian residential Property prices never fall”. Admittedly these “experts” have enjoyed an enormous 40-odd year bull market. However, they don’t believe that asset prices can be cyclical, and they likely missed the 1993 London headline which read “One million homes in negative equity”.
As Australia’s unemployment rate hits 4.7 per cent, a five year high, and inflation reaches 4.0 per cent in the 12 months to August 2026, it appears a period of stagflation – slow or negative real economic growth per capita, higher unemployment and persistent inflation – will likely be with us for the foreseeable future. Continue…
In the past six years, French Government ten-year bond yield has jumped from negative 0.3 per cent to 4.9 per cent, the highest level in 24 years. Investors are starting to differentiate between each euro-denominated country with German and Dutch ten-year bonds yielding 3.5 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, Greek and Italian ten-year bonds yield 4.55 per cent and 4.65 per cent, respectively, indicating potential contagion as confidence appears to be in short supply. Continue…
Australia’s housing market is under growing pressure, and further declines in property values could affect more than just homeowners. The consequences could extend across household finances, consumer confidence and state government budgets.
If the value of Australia’s 11 million dwellings decline by an average 15.5 per cent from its A$12.8 trillion peak, then up to A$2.0 trillion in paper wealth could be wiped out over the 2026-2027 period. Based on averages, a dwelling worth $1.16 million at its peak could fall below $1.0 million. This fall in value would equate to a decline of $70,000 per Australian in housing wealth. Continue…
After cutting their cash rates in the latter part of 2024 and 2025, the Central Banks of Australia, the U.S., Europe and New Zealand have recently reversed tack. This is coming at a tricky time for many economies with inflationary expectations and cost of living issues putting additional pressure on consumers, and this is often accompanied by relatively high unemployment in the UK (5.0 per cent), Europe (6.4 per cent), Canada (6.4 per cent) and New Zealand (5.6 per cent). Continue…
FDC Consolidated Holdings Limited (ASX: FDC), a major Australian construction, fit-out, and building services company, has had an auspicious beginning as a public company after listing for $3.00 per share on the ASX on 13 July 2026. FDC reported a 13 per cent increase in revenue for the year to June 2026 to $1.69 billion, whilst underlying Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) (excluding listing costs) rose 18 per cent to $96.5 million. Continue…
As I have written many times, Australia’s Household Debt to Disposable Income Ratio has jumped more than fourfold to around 180 per cent over the past 50 years, making us one of the more indebted societies of the 38 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.
Preeminent financial journalist of many decades, Robert Gottliebsen, recently argued a 10 per cent decline in house prices was the equivalent to around three 0.25 per cent interest rate increases for the average Australian consumer. Continue…
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