MLC Market Watch

While the Australian sharemarket ended the month down, MLC bond strategies helped provide a buffer producing solid returns as yields fell.

In this update, MLC Investment Management’s Natalie Comino looks at:

• the effects of resurfacing European debt woes on Australian and global sharemarkets
• Australian dollar performance
• what it all means for your MLC investments.

View the MLC Fund Performance Update video here.

Download Natalie Comino video script.

The recent volatility in sharemarkets has put the role of debt in a portfolio under the spotlight. Natalie Comino looks at the value of debt in an investor’s portfolio.

 
Her analysis includes:

• the advantages of debt over shares
• the impact of interest rates on debt, and
• debt strategy in uncertain times.

View the Natalie Comino video here.

We review market conditions, fund performance and your account value for the last year.

With the financial year over, many investors will receive their annual statements soon.

Given the recent sharemarket volatility, if you have any exposure to shares in your portfolio it’s likely your account value will have fallen.

It’s not an easy time to be an investor. Staying focussed on the long term and on the fact that markets and asset values will inevitably recover can be a challenge.

However there is cause for cautious optimism now. So far Australia appears to have weathered the global financial crisis (GFC) better than the rest of the developed world. Although we’ve seen an increase in unemployment, retail spending and property sales have risen this year and the Reserve Bank is keeping interest rates on hold, citing growing stability in the global economy.

As of 30 June, the Australian sharemarket has rallied 27% off its low of 3111 in March this year, with the banking and resources sectors particularly strong.

These are all positive signs for investors.

To help you understand what’s happened in the market and how MLC is managing your investments, we spoke to the Head of Investment Specialists, Michelle Heinrich.

Firstly, Ms Heinrich takes us through how the GFC started and the damage it caused to the global economy and investment markets.
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Senior Investment Specialist John Owen answers some of the most commonly asked questions on fund performance:

How does MLC manage its portfolios?

MLC has a multi-manager style of investing. This means we select multiple investment managers to manage different asset classes and strategies within our portfolios.

The reason we do this is to access the expertise of the world’s best managers, and to incorporate their insights into our portfolios. One investment manager cannot deliver across all market conditions all of the time.

Our multi-manager investment style ensures a level of diversification within, as well as across, asset classes and management styles. This in turn helps secure more consistent investment outcomes for our clients.

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Our first topic in the Market Watch video series is now available.

View ‘Facing the challenges of 2009′ here. It includes:

• - a market update by MLC Investment Strategist Brian Parker
• - a funds update by MLC Senior Investment Specialist John Owen
• - six golden rules of investing by MLC Senior Investment Specialist Natalie Comino

Brian Parker will be providing monthly market updates as part of the series.

So why not subscribe to updates so you know when a new video is added to the site?

Want to find out more about a specific topic? Send us a question.

Watch this space to find out what’s next in the series.