The general insurance industry has been under pressure in recent years. However, we have a favourable outlook towards the sector at this point of the cycle as general insurers are poised to benefit from ongoing growth in premiums and a significant improvement in investment earnings. In this report, we detail our sector outlook and our key picks.

Dividends are a significant driver of returns for most Australian equity investors. We look for dividend-paying companies that can deliver growth year over year, continuously compounding cash flows each year. This is the template for companies we consider when thinking about income investing.

In the Focus Portfolio, we are exposed to a few thematics at present, including the one we will discuss in this note: the Global Reopening. Even though the ASX 200 hit its COVID trough more than 2 years ago, many post-COVID recovery stocks have yet to reach their full potential. We think this creates a significant opportunity that is still not fully appreciated by the market.

At its October board meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) surprised the money market and economists alike with a lower than expected 25 basis point (bp) increase, taking the official cash rate to 2.6%. In this note, we explore whether this partial pivot is likely to prove prudent or foolhardy.

The consumer staples sector is (considered) less risky and volatile, offering better downside protection to investors, however it does not provide the future return profiles we look for. In this report, we share our rationalisation for our underweight positioning on consumer staples.

The global fixed interest market has a unique and multi-faceted role in both financial markets and the real economy. In this week’s report, we explore the flow-on effects of the big rate reset on the fixed interest market.

Thematic investing is a forward-looking approach that seeks to capitalise on megatrends. In the Focus Portfolio, we are exposed to a few thematics, including the Energy Transition. In this report, we delve into the investment opportunities in the transition to renewable energy.

In 2022, we have witnessed one of the fastest valuation de-ratings on record, as interest rates rise and growth concerns build. The question we explore in this week’s report is whether the latest equity sell-off has pushed valuations to levels that represent an attractive buying opportunity.