K64 Auxiliary Finance and Insurance Services

AMP steps up bid to regain lost trust

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 13-May-19

AMP CEO Francesco De Ferrari has told customers in an open letter that the wealth manager is making significant changes as it seeks to regain their trust. AMP’s reputation took a battering as a result of deficiencies in its operations that were exposed by the Hayne royal commission, with its share price falling from $5.20 to $2.45 during 2018. The letter, which has been reprinted as an advertisement in a number of newspapers, notes that AMP has made fundamental changes to its operations and has bolstered its internal processes.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Property risk to credit market

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Original article by Samantha Bailey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 9-May-19

Fitch Ratings’ latest quarterly survey of fixed-income investors shows that 70 per cent of respondents consider a housing market downturn to be the biggest risk to Australia’s credit market. This compares with just 29 per cent a year ago. The survey also shows that nearly all respondents anticipate a further decline in house prices, compared with 52 per cent a year ago. Meanwhile, 60 per cent of respondents expect official interest rates to be cut by up to 50 basis points over the next 12 months.

CORPORATES
FITCH RATINGS LIMITED

AMP Capital’s Oliver the economist of choice for media mentions

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: Online : 6-May-19

AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver was mentioned more than 2,500 times in metropolitan newspapers and online news sites over the period from April 2018 to March 2019, according to media monitoring company Streem. Oliver, who is also AMP Capital’s chief strategist, received more than twice as many mentions as Craig James from Commsec (1041), while REA Group’s Nerida Consisbee was the third-most mentioned economist, with 959 mentions.

CORPORATES
AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA

Investors wary in peak profit warning season

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 28 : 1-May-19

Matthew Ross of Goldman Sachs anticipates an increase in profit warnings ahead of the end of the 2018-19 financial year. He adds that factors such as the federal election will make it hard for listed companies to increase earnings momentum leading into the second half of the calendar year. However, Ross notes that despite a decline in profit margins in the last 18 months, the EBIT margins of 80 per cent of companies remained above long-term averages during the first half of 2018-19.

CORPORATES
GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK

Confession season to give rally a reality check

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 27 : 30-Apr-19

The Australian sharemarket has had its best start to a calendar year since 1991, despite retreating on 29 April. However, the banks’ reporting season will be the next key test for the local bourse, along with trading updates from other listed companies. Meanwhile, the consensus forecast for growth in earnings per share in 2019 is 2.8 per cent, compared with 8.4 per cent at the same time in 2018.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED

FOMO or TINA? Stocks hit seven-month high but rocky road ahead

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 24 : 24-Apr-19

The S&P/ASX 200 has gained 12 per cent so far in 2019, making its best start to a calendar year in two decades. The benchmark index is now trading on a 12-month price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75 times, compared with a long-term average of around 14 times. Although ‘fear of missing out’ has been a key driver of the domestic market, ‘there is no alternative’ to shares has probably also played a role in the recent rise. However, investors should also be mindful of the adage ‘sell in May and go away’.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, ALUMINA LIMITED – ASX AWC, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Australians embracing robo-advisers

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Original article by Luke Housego
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 23-Apr-19

A survey of more than 1,000 Australians has found that 30 per cent would be willing to receive financial advice from ‘robo-advisers’. The survey was commissioned by consulting firm Thinque, with company founder Anders Sorman-Nilsson suggesting that consumers have become less willing to trust human financial advisers as a result of the banking royal commission. Around 80 per cent of respondents stated that financial services is the sector in which they are most worried about digital fraud.

CORPORATES
THINQUE, IRESS WEALTH MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS (RSA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Boutique funds emerge as top performers

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 26 : 18-Apr-19

Data from Mercer shows that the median long-only Australian share fund achieved a return of 10.9 per cent in the March 2019 quarter, on the back of a 9.5 per cent gain for the S&P/ASX 300 index. Smallco Broadcap Fund, Collins Opportunistic Value Investing and CBG Australian Equities delivered the best returns for the quarter, while the ECP AM All Cap fund was the top performer in the year to March. BlackRock achieved the best return among long-short funds over both three months and 12 months.

CORPORATES
MERCER INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, SMALLCO BROADCAP FUND, COLLINS OPPORTUNISTIC VALUE INVESTING FUND, CBG AUSTRALIAN EQUITIES FUND, ECP ASSET MANAGEMENT ALL CAP FUND, BLACKROCK INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Time for caution as US stocks due for pullback

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 27 : 11-Apr-19

The S&P 500 is trading close to its record high, having gained 23 per cent since late December 2018. A number of factors suggest that there could be a correction. The International Monetary Fund has again downgraded its forecast for global economic growth; the S&P 500 fell sharply after the IMF’s previous downgrade in October. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is now widely tipped to announce quantitative easing rather than quantitative tightening, while there is growing speculation that the Fed’s next interest rate move will be down rather than up.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, BLOOMBERG LP, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, JP MORGAN AND COMPANY INCORPORATED

Margin pressures put squeeze on US outlook

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 27 : 10-Apr-19

The S&P 500 has gained 23 per cent since late December 2018, and it is close to a record high. However, some observers expect the S&P 500 to record year-on-year negative earnings growth in the March 2019 quarter, for the first time in about three years. Michael Wilson of Morgan Stanley and Tobias Levkovich of Citigroup are upbeat about the earnings outlook for the March quarter, but they are cautious about the outlook for the second half of 2019.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD