A Different Perspective
Asking the Right Questions
Ode to Liverpool Football Club
The English premier league season came to a close yesterday, one that Liverpool fans like myself will be keen to forget. As a fan, I am the equivalent of that guy who has been saying for years that government bond yields can’t go any lower, continually made to look stupid as bond yields made new record lows. I have argued the case at the beginning of every season why ‘this could be our year’. I suppose I am no different to most fans, living perpetually outside the realm of reality, our judgement clouded by the love for our club. Read More
If you’re not inside, you’re outside!
The real story of the week came from the European Central Bank (ECB). On Monday evening, Benoît Cœuré, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, gave a speech at an invitation-only conference, attended by hedge fund managers, where he informed guests that the ECB would be “frontloading its purchases activity in May and June”, for liquidity reasons. Read More
Retirement: don’t let your present self screw your future self!
The Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF) recently commissioned a national survey, conducted by IReach, to explore the level of engagement in retirement planning in Ireland and to examine “whether people are being realistic as to their expectations for retirement age”. Their conclusion, and one that will come of little surprise to us, “people simply avoid thinking about retirement for much of their working lives”. In fact, the IAPF estimate that only 50% of people in Ireland are participating in a pension scheme to save for retirement. Read More
The Mortgage Crisis: Interview on The Bottom Line
A discussion on the mortgage crisis with Dolores Martyn, host of “The Bottom Line” show on Northern Sound
http://media.northernsound.ie/mediamanager/embed/player/podcasts/42/item/41318
Long Dated Bond Funds: Beware of the Risk!
Recently, we have seen more pension scheme members expressing an interest in long dated government bond funds, ironically just as yields have started turning. While investors are clearly being attracted by the returns of the last 3 years, the near 10% decline over the last month should serve as a warning to the suitability for investors. Read More
The Psychology of Markets & The Beard Trend
The nature of markets, in particular the herd mentality often exhibited, flies in the face of the efficient market hypothesis and the notion of an efficiently priced market. Efficiently priced doesn’t necessarily mean fairly priced; as we’ve seen over time, asset prices can move significantly beyond (or below) some reasonable long term fundamental value. Irish property was the classic example, where prices moved to levels that could not be justified on any long term valuation metric. Houses were selling at 100 times rental yield! Read More
Market Recap: Week of May 18th 2015
Market Recap
Global equities were mixed last week after a raft of weaker than expected economic reports across the US, China and the Eurozone. Read More
Farewell to Steven Gerrard, True Legend!
Steven Gerrard said his heartfelt goodbyes to Liverpool fans Saturday and the end of his playing days at Anfield. The defeat to Crystal Palace on the day was perhaps symbolic of a disappointing season for himself and the club, after coming so close to the coveted Premier League title a year earlier. Still, the result was not going to overshadow his farewell. Read More
The obesity crisis: we’re all paying for it!
The World Health Organisation released a report last week warning that Ireland is moving up to the top of the obesity table; on current trends we’re being told that most Irish adults will be overweight by 2030. The statistics don’t lie. Look around, we’re fat, and getting fatter! Read More
Market Recap: Week of May 11th 2015
Market Recap
Financial markets ended a rocky week on a stronger footing, with big gains on Friday pushing the major indices into positive territory for the week, while there was relief for bond investors as yields eased lower. Read More
