The Rules of Investing

The Australian property market is incredibly nuanced. Markets like Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth are soaring by double digits while the markets of Sydney and Melbourne have started to cool considerably. But even if prices in the largest housing markets are mellowing, it does not take away the core and indisputable argument: Housing may never have been affordable but now, the crisis is worse than ever. Andrew Schwartz, Co-Founder, CIO, and Managing Director at alternative real estate investment manager Qualitas, doesn't see this structural situation changing any time soon. When he is asked to reflect on the last 12 months in the property market, he effectively described 2024 as one of the less memorable periods of recent years. "I think it'll go down as one of the less exciting years that we're going to think about when we reflect on the years that have gone by," Schwartz reflects.  "As we're approaching the end of 2024, it's quite clear that markets are starting to slow down and a lot of that momentum is coming out of the market." But he does see next year becoming far more "interesting", "fascinating", and even a "thriller" for investors in this asset class. "I think it's getting very exciting in 2025. There are many reasons why I feel that but in particular, residential property is affected by supply and demand and interest rates. When you look at each of those individual factors, you do see a market where Australia is caught short on the supply side at the moment and it's been very hard to get supply into the market. We have quite significant demand coming in and we have had a sustained period of relatively high interest rates," Schwartz says. Schwartz's comments here on this asset class really matter. Qualitas, the company he co-founded, has nearly $9 billion in funds under management today, mainly from overseas and domestic institutional investors who want to access the lucky country's most famous asset. An asset that, Schwartz argues, is a better store of value than stocks, crypto, and even gold. On this week's edition of The Rules of Investing, Schwartz is sitting down with guest presenter Hans Lee to discuss his views on these key tailwinds, his take on the macro environment, and where he sees growth opportunities in the Australian property market today.  (APPLE PODCASTS) (SPOTIFY) (PODBEAN) other key insights you can expect Forget stocks, crypto, and gold: Residential property may be the best store of value out there "I actually think that residential property is one of the best stores of value you can consider ... that is my personal opinion." "A beautiful store of value is buying land and you know we are going to be more and more densified over time. Personally, I find it hard to move away [from property] but that is how I think about residential property as a store of value." It's not about whether house prices rise, it's just about whether house prices will fall "One of the key measures for us is around the margin the developer is earning on the project. I don't think about the margin as a developer making money per se. I think about margin as safety for error. How much could we afford for prices to wind back?" Is the answer to unlocking housing supply just to "drop rates to zero"? "There is no doubt that if you want to stimulate the next round of the housing market, it's about dropping interest rates. The cost of capital is such a big factor in delivering projects." "However, the problem with dropping interest rates to that level is that one of the measures the RBA is very focussed on is the wealth effect of housing. The more people's houses are worth, the more they feel wealthy, and the more they go out and consume." How much will it cost for Australia to build 240,000 homes a year? "Construction costs have risen some 40% over the last three years in Australia. As a generalisation, housing prices and apartment prices, in particular, have not gone up by 40%." "Groups like ours see a lot very large volume of project feasibility where developers would like to get their projects financed."

Koda Capital is one of Australia's elite wealth management firms, charged with allocating over $11.5 billion of capital on behalf of high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and charitable foundations. For the past decade, Brigette Leckie has played a pivotal role in shaping the firm's views on where the best opportunities lie across global asset markets. Leckie firmly believes that understanding the macro environment is the starting point for building an investment strategy. And while it's not every day that investors like you and me get to pick the brains of an asset allocator with Brigette's experience. In this episode of the Rules of Investing, you'll get a front-row seat and learn how Brigette makes sense of the dynamics in global economies and what that means for investors. With a new regime set to take office in the world's largest economy and Australia's largest trading partner, China, amid a generational economic transition, the macro environment requires careful consideration for investors. Around the world with Brigette Leckie Fresh off the back of visits to Europe and the United States, Brigette made these observations. Europe: Better than the headlines and muddling through 'muddle through' Traffic is everywhere (yes, worse than Sydney) A change in attitudes towards experiences over spending on goods persists. Restaurants and streets are buzzing, and with the exception of Germany, economies will continue to muddle along Manufacturing in Germany remains sluggish United States: The gap is widening Inflation is real. Flights are at capacity, it's hard to get an Uber, and the streets are buzzing in many cities. The gap between the haves and the have-nots is widening. Politics remains highly divisive for families and corporations. "I did see divisiveness in a couple of things I did see on the corporate side. So, for example, getting into a car and asking the driver what his views on the election were, and he said, "Company policy is we don't talk about the election or politics." So that surprised me," said Leckie. China: Three significant issues to deal with Leckie says that China has been letting market forces deal with three major issues in its economy, and she expects these will take some time to resolve. Deflation: This remains an issue caused by excess capacity in the economy. Weak consumer: Consumer sentiment is fragile, creating a downward deflation spiral. Excesses of the property market: This is a well-documented issue that will take time to work through. Historically, China's policy has been boom or bust. Leckie believes that a mindset shift has taken place, and the old approach is being replaced by genuine reform. The goal is to gradually turn China into a more consumer-based economy. A stronger China is good for global economies, especially Australia; however, we should not expect the boom days of the past to return. So does macro matter? Leckie emphatically believes that understanding macroeconomics is the foundation of good investment strategy and asset allocation. She cites the example of interest rates near zero or negative as a point in time when the macroeconomics was 'out of whack' and providing a clear signal. Developed market bonds were 'uninvestable' in her eyes—a call that has been vindicated in recent years. Currency markets can also provide a signal. Most of the time, currencies trade in a narrow range, but there are times when they get to extremes. For example, the Australian dollar was worth less than US50 cents, and equally, it traded at parity. For globally diversified portfolios, these extreme moments matter. Three points for asset allocation right now Leckie says returns in recent years have been exceptional, and investors should be mindful not to extrapolate these into the future. Knowing what risk you will tolerate is easy to underestimate when markets are ripping higher. Leckie had these key messages for investors. Hold your conviction on big calls. If you have a strong foundation for your positions, you need to be willing to ride out short-term noise. Investors are too bullish on risk assets and should be cautious about expecting these returns to continue Diversification will be crucial over the period ahead. Investors must ensure their portfolios are properly diversified with uncorrelated investments.

For those who love equities, you’re in for a treat with the latest Rules of Investing podcast. This week's episode features First Sentier Investors’ Deputy Head of Australian Equities Growth, David Wilson. Wilson's bread and butter is picking high-quality growth companies - a role he executes every day as part of the team that runs the First Sentier Geared Australian Share Fund. He is not afraid to explain how he goes about doing this while acknowledging his missteps and sharing a handful of stocks he likes right now. When it comes to his process for picking stocks, Wilson says it’s all “pretty logical”. “We just try to invest in good businesses with management that are trying to do the right thing for you and with the right sort of balance sheet. It's pretty straightforward. You can overcomplicate these things, but generally, that's our approach”, says Wilson. Wilson adds that the team watches company management very closely:  “What they're trying to achieve, what their goals are, but also at their actions, particularly when they make an acquisition or divestment - that's a point where you get a real insight into how a company is thinking," says Wilson. Wilson points to Car Group (ASX: CAR) as a company with a solid acquisition history. The company is a recent addition to the portfolio, though Wilson acknowledges that he was a bit late to the party. Another stock he particularly likes right now is pallet-maker and logistics company Brambles (ASX: BXB), saying that “the new management team has brought in a real pricing discipline over the last five years”, which has allowed them to cement a dominant position as a global leader. In the following episode, Wilson also discusses the Fund's current overweights in tech and healthcare and names one stock from each sector that stands out (one of which is also the stock he would own if the market closed for five years). In terms of what Wilson doesn’t like right now, he talks about the shrinking position of consumer staples and explains why they haven’t been “quite so staple” over the past year. He also talks to sector underweights in energy, financials and materials – despite being overweight BHP Group (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO). For good measure, he also shares his thoughts on Rio’s takeover of Arcadium Lithium. Finally, in explaining how valuations matter, Wilson shares why he is underweight Cochlear (ASX: COH), despite it being a great business. Listen to the podcast to learn what keeps Wilson motivated after 40 years in markets, how he sees the current market conditions, and learn a little more about his process for picking stocks. For good measure, he'll even share with you which financial metric is a waste of time!   Note: This interview was recorded on Tuesday22 October 2024. 

In a world where artificial intelligence dominates headlines, few fund managers have harnessed it as boldly as Armina Rosenberg. For those who don't know her, "Arms" made a name for herself at Grok Ventures, the family office of Mike Cannon-Brookes. Now, she's paving a new path at AI-backed Minotaur Capital, alongside Perpetual alumnus Thomas Rice. The duo have developed Taurient, a software system that uses large language models for everything from idea generation to portfolio construction. In this episode of The Rules of Investing, Arms outlines how you can use AI to level up your own investment strategy, as well as a few stock ideas to get you started.  Note: This interview was recorded on Wednesday 9 October 2024.  Timecodes 0:00 - Intro  2:13 - Lessons learnt from managing the wealth of Australia's mega-rich  7:32 - Family involvement in investment in family offices  8:56 - Differences between how retail investors and mega-wealthy invest  10:01 - What makes Minotaur Capital different from its peers 13:23 - How Arms and Thomas met  15:26 - How Minotaur's AI system Taurient works  25:21 - Mix of fundamental investing and AI  26:30 - Can AI help to know when to sell a stock?  27:37 - Can investors develop an AI-backed system themselves?  29:04 - How investors can use ChatGPT to make smarter investing decisions  31:21 - The future of funds management in an AI world  34:32 - Where the team sees opportunity today i.e. exciting themes 37:13 - Energy companies making waves on the global stage  39:10 - AI winners - why Minotaur is backing smaller players over the behemoths  39:55 - Healthcare ideas - and an emerging oral GLP-1 winner in Japan  41:25 - Why Japan is a "once in a generation opportunity" 42:53 - An example of a company Minotaur is shorting  45:18 - What the market is getting wrong today - private credit  47:36 - Stories of wins and losses and lessons from these  51:51 - Two stocks for the next five years (if the market were to close in that time)