20 Jun, 2018

What Do Bond Markets think of the Nuclear Button?

By |2018-06-20T22:41:55+10:00Jun 20, 2018|Case Study, Education|

Since the division of Korea at the end of World War 2 in 1945, the two countries occupying the North and South sides of the Korean peninsula diverged on to two completely different economic paths. Whilst South Korea has experienced one of the largest economic transformations over the past 60 years, becoming the 4th largest economy in Asia and 11th [...]

6 Jun, 2018

Ferrari or Italy – Which Is More “Risk Free”?

By |2018-06-06T22:30:50+10:00Jun 6, 2018|Case Study, Education|

The concept of a risk free-rate, or the yield of government-issued securities, has long been one of the fundamental building blocks of capitalism and the basis of modern financial literature. It is a concept so intuitive that the general investing public in much of the developed world has largely taken for granted, both academically, and in most cases, in practice. [...]

6 Jun, 2018

Credit-Default Swaps: What Role Do They Play?

By |2018-06-06T22:11:27+10:00Jun 6, 2018|Education|

The mere mention of credit-default swaps (CDS) would cause many investors to cast their minds back to 2008, when these credit derivatives were at the heart of the global financial crisis (GFC). In case you missed Margot Robbie’s explanation in the 2015 film, The Big Short, a CDS is a form of contract in which the purchaser gets paid out [...]

23 May, 2018

Non-Operating Holding Companies (NOHCs) – Do You Really Know Them?

By |2018-05-23T22:00:42+10:00May 23, 2018|Case Study, Education|

In Australia, the fixed income market, especially the exchange-traded part that is available to retail investors, is dominated by well-established, household name issuers such as the major banks and other large financial services companies.  Whilst retail investors are usually quick to identify an issuance from a household name issuer, many, if not all, tend to overlook a fundamental question: Who [...]

23 May, 2018

Fund Management Strategy: Passive vs Active

By |2018-05-23T21:00:49+10:00May 23, 2018|Education|

Within the fund management sector, funds are generally categorised as active or passive depending on how actively the fund is being managed and whether it is aiming to outperform the market or more simply to closely mimic market performance. For example, the Vanguard Australian Shares Index Fund (VAS) is designed to track the ASX 300 benchmark performance over the long-term [...]

24 Apr, 2018

What Does an Inverted Yield Curve Mean?

By |2018-04-24T06:10:21+10:00Apr 24, 2018|Education|

Normally, fixed-income securities with a longer maturity date provide a risk premium for investors when compared to shorter-dated securities, reflecting the increased complexity inherent in their risk profiles (mainly interest rate risk and sometimes extension risk) over a longer investment horizon. This is best shown with a very familiar, upwardly sloping yield curve (Figure 1). Here, the swap curve increases [...]

11 Apr, 2018

Bank Funding Costs and The Future of Borrowing

By |2018-04-11T23:52:01+10:00Apr 11, 2018|Case Study, Education|

Since March this year, the benchmark local borrowing rate for Australian banks – the Bank Bill Swap Rate (BBSW) has risen sharply from ~1.80% to over 2.00% as we type, reflecting higher bank funding costs. In the meantime, USD funding costs as represented by the London Interbank Offer Rate (LIBOR) have also risen significantly, after surpassing BBSW since January this [...]

28 Mar, 2018

USPP Market – Why Do We Care?

By |2018-03-28T22:58:06+11:00Mar 28, 2018|Case Study, Education|

Tabcorp recently announced that it had successfully priced US$1.4 billion long-term notes to investors in the US Private Placement (USPP) market. The placement comprises four USD and two AUD-denominated tranches, with maturities evenly spaced between 8 – 18 years. The notes will be issued in June 2018. All USD proceeds will be swapped into AUD, resulting in total AUD proceeds [...]

28 Mar, 2018

Coupon Strategy: Reinvestment or Withdrawal?

By |2018-03-28T19:46:08+11:00Mar 28, 2018|Education|

As most equities pay dividends, the majority of fixed-income securities (excluding zero-coupon bonds etc.) pay coupons periodically to investors throughout the instrument’s life. However, fixed-income securities’ interest payments are non-discretionary compared to optional share dividends and failure to fulfil bond obligations (including paying interest) can have severe consequences including default, credit rating downgrades, trading penalties and adverse regulatory actions. This [...]

14 Mar, 2018

What’s Happening to US Treasuries and Why Does It Matter?

By |2018-03-14T21:46:53+11:00Mar 14, 2018|Education|

The past month has seen US 10-year Treasury Note yields skyrocket, up almost 20% from the beginning of January to 2.8714%, as investors foresee a large boost to the US economy on the back of President Donald Trump’s tax reform and more activity from the US Federal Reserve Bank. Indeed, Chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell recently stated that [...]