Market commentary

On Bloomberg Radio, Barry Ritholtz chatted with James O’Shaughnessy of O’Shaughnessy Asset Management. You might know James O’Shaughnessy; he wrote the multi-variable stock selection guide book called What Works on Wall Street.

The interview challenges the bedrock of our beliefs when it comes to investing; that we add value. More specifically the interview challenges the ideas that smarter people make better investment decisions.

Here’s an excerpt:

O’Shaughnessy: “Fidelity had done a study as to which accounts had done the best at Fidelity. And what they found was…”

Ritholtz: “They were dead.”

O’Shaughnessy: “…No, that’s close though! They were the accounts people who forgot they had an account at Fidelity.”

Ritholtz also follows with some of his experiences in estate planning, where a family fighting over some inherited assets might not touch them for say, 10 or 20 years while they work out the problem, and later find that those 10 or 20 years are the best period of performance.

We reckon the ‘hands-off’ approach makes a lot of sense. Billionaire oilman J. Paul Getty famously advised: “Buy when everyone is selling and hold until everyone is buying”. He was onto something.

You can download the podcast of the interview here.

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Market commentary.

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Last week, the Vertigan Panel published their second volume from their review of the National Broadband Network (NBN), and other options for upgrading Australia’s internet infrastructure. For those interested, you can find a copy here. continue…

by Scott Shuttleworth Posted in Insightful Insights, Market commentary.

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A few weeks ago, Sydney Morning Herald journalist Barbara Drury spoke to David Buckland on what stocks look good (and not so good) this reporting season. The resulting article was published in the paper’s Money liftout, and can be viewed here.

by Roger Montgomery's Team Posted in Companies, Market commentary.

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With some good news for Australian investors, my friend Simon Hoyle has just broken details on the Opposition’s call for a parliamentary inquiry into financial advice. We’ve posted an excerpt below, but to read Simon’s full article on Professional Planner, click here. continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Financial Services, Market commentary.

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In this interview with Ross Greenwood on Radio 2GB on July 8, Roger talks about the current tax environment that’s curbing risk-taking amongst entrepreneurs, and what can be done to turn it around. Listen here.

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Market commentary.

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I was reading an excellent interview between Alex Malley, Chief Executive of CPA Australia and Andrew Liveris, and wanted to pass on some of the most pertinent points to our readers. Andrew is the President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American firm, The Dow Chemical Company – and he’s also an Australian. continue…

by David Buckland Posted in Market commentary.

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We’re a self-deprecating bunch, us Aussies. Anything from the US is just that little bit better than what we have here, surely. At a finance seminar, you listen that little bit harder to anyone with an American accent, but should we be undervaluing our own abilities so harshly? continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Investing Education, Market commentary.

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Now the dust has settled on last week’s budget announcement, we have collectively come up with a number of ways that proposed changes to the budget may impact listed businesses, and provide some of these below. continue…

by Russell Muldoon Posted in Economics, Health Care, Insightful Insights, Market commentary.

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We have long believed (and written) that the risk to changes to the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) in the budget were non-existent. The share price decline of McMillan Shakespeare (ASX: MMS) over recent months however, suggested the rest of the market believed otherwise. continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Market commentary.

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In this interview with Ross Greenwood on Radio 2GB on Tuesday May 6, Roger discusses risk and probability when it comes to investing, and why it’s important to consider the value of a business rather than trying to gamble on the stock market. Listen here.

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Investing Education, Market commentary.

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