Banks, property still the top investment picks

Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 20-Apr-16

The Australian sharemarket has been trading within a range of 4,900 to 5,200 points in recent months. However, VISIS Private Wealth’s Chris Smith argues that investors should be focusing on the outlook for the market in the next 3-5 years, rather than its short-term performance. Smith says the nation’s four major banks should achieve good returns over the longer-term, while he is also upbeat about the long-term outlook for the residential and commercial property markets.

CORPORATES
VISIS PRIVATE WEALTH, STEPHAN STRATEGIC, RMIT UNIVERSITY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Investors to get $9b dividend bonanza

Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 31-Mar-16

Australian companies are expected to pay shareholders around $A19bn in interim dividends during March and April 2016. Fund managers estimate that almost $A9bn worth of dividends will be paid in the final week of March, including some $A3.4bn worth of dividends from the Commonwealth Bank. Meanwhile, CommSec’s Craig James warns that the current dividend payout ratio of 106.3 per cent of profits is not sustainable. Many shareholders are expected to reinvest their dividends in equities, particularly given the low returns from assets such as bonds.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, PLATYPUS ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Dividend lure keeps capex hungry

Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 30-Mar-16

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 boasts a dividend yield of 4.98 per cent at present, and it is tipped to be 4.66 per cent for the 2016 calendar year. Yield-hungry investors continue to shun bonds in favour of equities, and Citigroup has suggested that this focus on yield is deterring companies from increasing their capital expenditure. Australian companies anticipate capex of $A124bn in 2015-16, and $A82.6bn in 2016-17.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, UBS GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Investors advised to widen stocks horizons

Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 4-Mar-16

The Australian sharemarket has shed five per cent so far in 2016, with the market volatility adversely affecting exchange-traded funds in particular. However, experts say investors who use an active investment strategy can diversify their portfolios by gaining exposure to passive investment options such as exchange-traded funds. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF has delivered the best performance among such funds in the year-to-date.

CORPORATES
MARKET VECTORS GOLD MINERS ETF – ASX GDX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 300 INDEX, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED, ISHARES INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, BETASHARES AUSTRALIAN EQUITIES STRONGBEARHEDGEFUND – ASX BBO, MARKET VECTORS CHINAMC A-SHARE ETF – ASX CET, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, PROTEGE FUNDS LLC, VANGUARD S&P 500 ADMIRAL INDEX FUND

ASX200 payout slide set to dwarf counterparts

Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 1-Mar-16

A number of companies in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 have increased their dividends in 2015-16, despite the financial market volatility. However, Hasan Tevfik of Credit Suisse expects the combined dividend payout of S&P/ASX 200 companies to fall from $A79bn in 2014-15 to just $A73bn. Meanwhile, the total capital returned to shareholders will be boosted by share buybacks.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Millionaires roll shrinks by 5000

Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 15-Feb-16

Data from Investment Trends shows that Australia boasted 440,000 individuals whose investable assets topped $A1m at the end of October 2015. This compares with 445,000 in 2014, while the combined assets of the nation’s millionaires has fallen from $A1.57trn to $A1.55trn. Investment Trends’ Irene Guiamatsia notes that property and direct ownership of shares accounts for two-thirds of the investment portfolios of most high net worth individuals.

CORPORATES
INVESTMENT TRENDS PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX

Property returns trounce shares

Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 11-Feb-16

The Australian sharemarket has delivered a total return of 58 per cent over the last decade. However, residential property prices in Melbourne and Sydney have risen by 92 per cent over the same period. Domain Group’s chief economist Andrew Wilson does not expect the housing market to enjoy such gains in the next decade, warning that growth is likely to be much lower. Perpetual’s Matt Sherwood says equities investors should also expect lower growth in dividends in the near-term.

CORPORATES
DOMAIN.COM.AU, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Investor sentiment hits a record low

Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 3-Feb-16

A survey by Investment Trends has found that the average investor expects the Australian sharemarket to gain just 1.2 per cent in 2016. However, Recep Peker of Investment Trends notes that 33 per cent of investors still intend to invest in equities. The survey also shows that 70 per cent of respondents have identified the outlook for the Chinese economy as their biggest concern, while the potential for another global financial crisis or market crash was cited by 54 per cent.

CORPORATES
INVESTMENT TRENDS PTY LTD, HLB MANN JUDD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, HSBC HOLDINGS PLC, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, CSI 300 INDEX

Resource raisings hit the pits

Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 18 : 18-Jan-16

New figures show that Australian resources groups raised just $A2.41bn in new equity during 2015, which is the lowest level since 2005. There was a sharp decline in IPO activity in particular in the resources sector, while iron ore hopeful Waratah Resources is the latest company to shift its focus to the technology sector. Businessman Nathan Tinkler notes that investors are reluctant to support equity raisings in the resources sector at present.

CORPORATES
WARATAH RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX WGO, AUSTRALIAN PACIFIC COAL LIMITED – ASX AQC, BLOOMBERG LP, PENGANA CAPITAL LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Investors downbeat on ASX growth prospects

Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 6-Jan-16

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index shed 1.3 per cent in 2015, and a survey by Investment Trends shows that investors expect the sharemarket to rise by less than five per cent in 2016. King Loong Choi of Investment Trends notes that investor sentiment is being affected by factors such as low interest rates, sharemarket volatility, the slowing Australian economy and the uncertain outlook for the Chinese economy.

CORPORATES
INVESTMENT TRENDS PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, GEM CAPITAL FINANCIAL ADVICE, HENDERSON GROUP PLC – ASX HGG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG