Basis Points

”Conventional wisdom will tell you that the lowest risk portfolio you can have is to have 70% of your assets in one country…that's a violation of common sense.”

Ben Preston Portfolio Manager at Orbis Investments, warns that in markets dominated by a handful of mega-caps, portfolios that look diversified on the surface- may be carrying far more risk than advisors realise.

We sat down with Ben to unpack where diversification breaks down and find out how advisors can better identify this hidden concentration risk.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
How benchmark alignment can increase portfolio risk in narrow markets.
Why historical bubbles reveal the dangers of perceived diversification.
Practical ways to assess diversification across geographies, styles, and currencies.

Chapters:
00:00:00 – Rethinking Portfolio Diversification Risk
00:05:45 – Understanding Today’s Narrow Market
00:09:01 – Benchmarking And Concentration Exposure
00:14:15 – Defining Diversification Across Scenarios
00:18:52 – Broadening AI Exposure Beyond The US
00:22:11 – Currency Management As A Portfolio Input

📈 Stocks and ETFs Mentioned: NVIDIA, META, SK Hynix Inc. SK Square Co. Ltd, ASML. TSMC, Alphabet, Next Plc, PDD Holdings.

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CPD Points: This episode is accredited for the following CPD points by the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA). Complete the quiz here to claim your points.

0.5 Total Hours
Knowledge Requirements: Managed Investments (0.50 hour)
Legislated CPD Area: Technical Competence (0.50 hour)

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This episode has been sponsored by Orbis Investments.

If you would like to learn more about Orbis’ contrarian investment approach can offer a true point of diversification when constructing client portfolios, click here.

Thank you to Orbis for helping us keep all of our content free and accessible.

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Basis Points is a product of Equity Mates Media.

This podcast is intended for education and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only, and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs or objectives. Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Equity Mates Media operates under Australian Financial Services Licence 540697.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the most reliable out-performers in the Australian market aren’t the blue chips, but the companies graduating quietly through the mid-cap ranks?

Advisors often focus on small-cap potential or large-cap stability. But Jovana Gagic, Portfolio Manager and Analyst at Paradise Investment Management believes Australia’s mid-caps are where earnings growth, diversification and structural tailwinds collide.

Ren sat down with Jovana to unpack the signals that can help advisors distinguish graduates from gambles in today’s market.

In this episode:
How to spot the true graduation signals as companies move from speculative to scalable
What makes the mid-cap index a structurally appealing investment
Risk-management frameworks that help avoid the blow-ups while capturing long-term compounders

Timestamps:
00:00:00 – Opening Thoughts
00:03:00 – Small Caps That Grow Up
00:06:10 – Why Mid Caps Outperform
00:10:20 – Diversifying Beyond Banks
00:14:30 – Finding Structural Winners
00:18:40 – Red Flags and Risk Control
00:23:00 – Graduation Stories
00:27:20 – Mid Caps in Portfolios
00:31:10 – Survival of the Fittest

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CPD Points: This episode has been accredited for CPD points by the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA). To claim your points, complete the CPD quiz here and we’ll send you your certificate.

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This episode has been sponsored by CBOE APAC.

Head to the Cboe website to learn more about their Cboe-listed ETF Paradice Australian Mid Cap Fund Active ETF

Thank you to Cboe APAC for helping us keep all of our content free and accessible.

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Want more Basis Points?
Sign up to the Basis Points email
Join the conversation on LinkedIn
Watch all episodes in full and relive some of our favourite clips on YouTube

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Equity Mates Media and the hosts of Basis Points acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.

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Basis Points is a product of Equity Mates Media.

This podcast is intended for education and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only, and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs or objectives. Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.

Equity Mates Media operates under Australian Financial Services Licence 540697.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“No client wants to be scaled.”

So how do you grow an advice business without making clients feel that they’re just a number? In this episode, we explore how Evalesco balances efficiency, scale, and deep personalisation to serve their “millionaire next door” client base.

Ren sat down with Jeff Thurecht (CEO) and Marshall Brentnall (CIO) to hear how they scaled an advice business with a strong client-care philosophy, team culture, and high-quality practice management systems.

We cover:
How to design a client care model that feels truly personal even as your firm grows.
Practical tools and processes that lift adviser capacity, including SMAs, workflow design, and AI-driven efficiencies.
How to improve client engagement during challenging market conditions.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
02:40 - Scaling The Right Way
08:30 - Systems that Free Adviser Time
12:00 - Automations and AI
16:05 - Culture That Drives Client Care
19:33 - Design Processes Around Relationships
22:32 - Personalised Portfolios at Scale
26:35 - Evalesco's Investment Philosophy
32:52 - Guiding Clients Through Turbulence
35:27 - Client Communication That Works
40:14 - Case Study: Intergenerational Planning

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CPD Points: This episode is accredited for CPD points by the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA). Complete the quiz here to claim your points.

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Want more Basis Points?
Sign up to the Basis Points email
Join the conversation on LinkedIn
Watch all episodes in full and relive some of our favourite clips on YouTube

——
In the spirit of reconciliation, Equity Mates Media and the hosts of Basis Points acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.
——
Basis Points is a product of Equity Mates Media.
This podcast is intended for education and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only, and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs or objectives. Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.
Equity Mates Media operates under Australian Financial Services Licence 540697.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Australia's corporate bond market has quietly become the third largest in the world, and signs point towards more growth to come.

With offshore giants tapping local liquidity and the AI infrastructure boom demanding trillions in new capital globally, Australia's fixed income market is no longer a niche corner of the capital market- it’s globally relevant.

So what kind of opportunities can these shifts in fixed income create for advisors and their clients’ portfolios?

Alec sat down with Anthony Ip, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, Milford Corporate Bond Plus Fund to find out.

Timestamps
00:30 – Macroeconomic update: Australian resilience, household confidence, inflation risks
03:44 – RBA’s dual mandate and future interest rate trajectory
05:48 – The evolution and scale of Australia’s corporate bond market
10:54 – Key sectors and issuers shaping the bond market
13:44 – The future of offshore corporates issuing in Australia
15:19 – Australia’s fiscal position and attractiveness to global investors
18:09 – AI infrastructure boom and implications for credit markets
29:52 – Practical takeaways for advisers on incorporating fixed income

Thank you to Milford for sponsoring this episode of Basis Points, and helping us keep all of our content free. If you want to learn more about Milford's funds head to their website.

Equity Trustees Limited (“Equity Trustees”) (ABN 46 004 031 298), AFSL 240975, is the Responsible Entity for the Milford Australian Absolute Growth Fund and Milford Dynamic Small Companies Fund. Before you invest, be sure to read the Milford Funds Product Disclosure Statements and Target Market Determinations at http://milfordasset.com.au

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CPD Points: This episode is accredited CPD points by the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA). Complete the quiz here to claim your points.
——

Want more Basis Points?
Sign up to the Basis Points email
Join the conversation on LinkedIn
Watch all episodes in full and relive some of our favourite clips on YouTube
——
In the spirit of reconciliation, Equity Mates Media and the hosts of Basis Points acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.
——
Basis Points is a product of Equity Mates Media.
This podcast is intended for education and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only, and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs or objectives. Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.
Equity Mates Media operates under Australian Financial Services Licence 540697.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest believes investors should rethink risk, and be wary of confusing calm waters with safety.

In this episode, we speak to founder and CIO at Auscap Asset Management, Tim Carleton- and he does not hold back.

He unpacks the flaws he sees in how private markets are valued, questions the sustainability of private credit and declares that three out of the four Big Banks in Australia have lost their competitive advantage.

Also in this episode:

The two factors Tim believes determine long term returns
Unpacking the illusions of private markets
Behind Auscap’s outperformance since 2012
Tim's Checklist for building a strong Quality filter
Where Auscap sees genuine value and is deploying capital today

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CPD Points: This episode has been accredited for CPD points by the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA). Complete the quiz here to receive your points.

——

Want more Basis Points?
Sign up to the Basis Points email
Join the conversation on LinkedIn
Watch all episodes in full and relive some of our favourite clips on YouTube

——
In the spirit of reconciliation, Equity Mates Media and the hosts of Basis Points acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.
——
Basis Points is a product of Equity Mates Media.
This podcast is intended for education and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only, and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs or objectives. Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional.
Equity Mates Media operates under Australian Financial Services Licence 540697.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.