MLC Market Watch

With February a good month for sharemarkets, what has it meant for MLC funds? In this update, MLC’s Senior Investment Strategist John Owen looks at:

• MLC Australian Share Strategy performance in February
• the outperfomance of MLC Australian bonds managers, and
• what it means for the MLC Balanced and Growth Funds

View the March MLC Fund Performance Update video here.

Download John Owen video script.

While sharemarkets ended 2009 strongly, it’s been tougher going for investors this year. In this update, MLC’s Investment Strategist Brian Parker looks at:

• the associated risks of the sovereign debt issues in Europe
• the RBA’s decision to keep the cash rate at 3.75%, and
• what it means for investors.

View the February market update video here.

Download Brian Parker video script.

While 2010 has started slowly for investors, one-year performance figures are continuing to impress. In this update, MLC’s Senior Investment Strategist John Owen looks at:

• the recent performance of the MLC Australian Share Strategy
• the outperformance of manager Sands Capital, and
• what it means for the MLC Balanced and Growth Funds

View the February MLC Fund Performance Update video here.

Download John Owen video script.

How the Reserve Bank of Australia controls interest rates and economic growth.

The past 18 months haven’t been easy, but the consensus among Australian economists is we avoided a serious recession. The sharemarket dipped, unemployment rose and business and consumer spending fell, but compared to other developed countries, we got off lightly.

There are various theories as to how and why our economy weathered the global financial crisis (GFC); demand for our exports from China, Government stimulus packages, bank guarantees and our strict banking control system have all been cited.

In any scenario, monetary policy played a major role.

We spoke to three experts about the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA); what it does and why, and its reaction to the GFC.

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With a few small hiccups along the way, the Australian and global economies have continued their recovery. In this update, MLC’s Investment Strategist Brian Parker looks at:

• the implications on world sharemarkets by the debt freeze in Dubai
• the mixed bag of economic numbers in Australia, and
• what it all means for investors.

View the December Economic and Market Update video here.

Download Brian Parker video script.