The author has been described by News Ltd as an "iconoclast", "Svengali", a pollie's "economist muse", and "pungently accurate". Fairfax says he is a "Renaissance man" and "one of Australia’s most respected analysts." Stephen Koukoulas concludes that he is "85% right", and "would make a great Opposition leader." Terry McCrann claims the author thinks "‘nuance’ is a trendy village in the south of France", but can be "scintillating" when he thinks "clearly". The ACTU reckons he’s "an enigma wrapped in a Bloomberg terminal, wrapped in some apparently well-honed abs."

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Equities could deliver zero returns: JANA

Sound familiar? From the Financial Standard:
JANA's longtime investment expert, Ken Marshman, predicts there's a 25 per cent chance that equities as an asset class will deliver low to zero returns over the next 20 years - a grim reality that should spur trustees to start lowering the risk in their existing portfolios today.

Speaking at the ASFA conference this morning, Marshman made the bold statement to drive home his key message: the primary role of trustees is to acutely monitor risk, a job many failed to meet during the global financial crisis.

This role becomes even more important given that the world is heading towards an environment of low returns - particularly in equities.

The solution? Marshman strongly believes trustees must upskill and improve their investment expertise, enabling them to better navigate through markets "where risk will never go away", he said.
at 1:57 PM