17/12/15: IS THIS The official end of the GFC?

After much delay and much warning, the Fed has finally raised the Fed Funds rate from a range of 0-0.25% to 0.25%-0.5%. The move signals confidence in the ongoing recovery in the US economy after the crippling effects of the Global Financial Crisis. More importantly, the language of the Fed was sufficiently dovish with regard to future rate hikes.

At the time of writing, the ASX200 has gained almost 100 points, on top of the previous day's 118 point rebound, and BHP shares are up over 5% - a major relief to for investors who watched the local bourse fall in each of its six prior sessions.

20/11/15: Second hand news

Media and the markets

Why don't the media run more good news? One view is bad news sells. If people preferred good news, the media would supply it. But markets don't see news as necessarily good or bad. Read on

Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.

19/11/15: US interest rates: Fear or celebrate?

5 reasons not to be too worried about 'The Fed'

In this article, AMP Capital's Dr Shane Oliver discusses what is on everyone's mind lately, the strong possibility of an interest rate hike in December. Is this something that should be feared or celebrated? Read more here

Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.

14/11/15: Active vs Passive: The Latest Scorecard

Not looking great for active managers...

The Standard & Poors scorecard, which compares active manager investment performance with index fund performance is here, and the results further validates Westmount's investment philosophy - great news for our clients. Read more here

Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.

03/11/15: Rates steady

A positive development...

As broadly expected, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) decided to hold off a little longer and keep interest rates steady today.

While there is a general consensus out there that the RBA stands ready to cut interest rates in the future should the Australian economy remain sluggish, the RBA wants to see more economic data filter through the system as some parts of the Australian economy are actually showing signs of life. And if the economy continues to gradually improve, the RBA will be less likely to move on rates (a good thing).

So in short, the RBA, by it's language today, is effectively saying that conditions are by no means ideal, but good enough for now.

Of course, the RBA will also be looking over its shoulder to the US, where interest rates are widely expected to rise either this or early next year.

We'll keep Westmount clients informed of any new developments going forward.

Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.

13/10/15: Residential Property: Proceed with caution

Property market update

Australian housing remains overvalued, and the Sydney and Melbourne markets, in particular, appear to be cooling. Property investors need to be careful going forward as price falls of around 5-10% are expected in the coming year or two - a potential problem for highly indebted property owners. Read more here

Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.

17/09/15: Putting recent share market falls in context

Implications for investors

At the time of writing, the Australian share market (ASX200) has fallen by 13% since the highs of February this year, much of this occurring over the last couple of months. It also seems that the usual doomsayers have been working overtime, doing their level best to frighten investors into either subscribing to their alarmist newsletters, buying their books or engage investment services. On the other side of the spectrum you have some perennially optimistic fund managers and financial advisers who prefer to bury their heads in the sand, refusing to acknowledge that the landscape has changed.

Of course, the truth is usually somewhere in between, and very few commentators strike the right balance better than AMP Capital's Dr Shane Oliver. In this article, Dr Oliver provides a calm, balanced, 'grown-up' perspective of the recent share market falls, and their place in history. As usual, this publication is a must for anxious retirees and investors. Read more here

Also, read 9 rules for investors to keep in mind

Going forward from here, Westmount clients will continue to be kept apprised of the latest important developments, in real time, good news, or bad.

Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.

01/09/15: Interest rates on hold

But for how much longer?

The Reserve bank board met on Tuesday 1 September and kept official interest rates on hold at 2%, continuing to assess the impact of the two rate cuts earlier in the year.

Lack of business investment No doubt the RBA board would have discussed at length current weak commodity prices impacting our national income, the lack of business investment as well as two key developments that arose earlier in August. These include the recent devaluation of the Chinese currency and the weak Australian unemployment report.

Unemployment rate Previous RBA commentary indicated it considered the unemployment rate profile was around 6%. However the other key development in August was that the unemployment rate jumped to 6.3%. A higher unemployment rate is also a catalyst for an inflation downgrade, due to weak wages growth.

Business conditions and confidence The NAB business confidence survey for August pared back the post Budget gains, however both conditions and confidence are suggesting a turnaround in the non-mining economy, with conditions varying greatly across industries. The confidence index is still positive and holding around average levels.

Macquarie Bank is of the view that the combination of the Chinese currency devaluation, a weakening labour market and excess capacity in the economy all support the case for a further rate cut in November. The next RBA board meeting will be held on Tuesday 6 October.

Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.

28/08/15: Busting the bond myth

Rate expectations...

The decline in interest rates to historic lows in recent years has led to anxiety among Australian investors about what will happen to their fixed interest holdings when overnight interest rates begin to rise.

This apprehension is based on the conventional view that longer-dated bonds underperform in this type of rising interest rate environment.

Dr Steve Garth provides another perspective in Cuffelinks.

Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.

25/08/15: The Patience Principle

What we all know deep down inside...

DFA's VP Jim Parker weighs in on the latest market volatility. As always, Jim's 'Outside the Flags' issue is worth a quick read. Read here.

Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.

24/08/15: Let's compare...

A few surprises...

Sometimes it helps to take look the world through an unconventional perspective when thinking about the size of things.

So here’s a pretty awesome map from Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Chief Investment Strategist Michael Hartnett that shows the world according to free-float equity market capitalisation in billions of dollars measured by the MSCI.

The US, with a market cap of $US19.8 trillion, is the biggest and represents 52% of the world’s market cap. Japan is in second place at $US3 trillion, followed by the UK at $US2.7 trillion, and then France at $US1.3 trillion.

Notably, Hong Kong’s market cap is nearly the same size of China (both of which are significantly smaller than countries like the US and Japan).

Meanwhile, Russia, which has a bigger surface area than Pluto, is about the same size as Finland in terms of market cap.

Check out the whole map below.

Capital

Rick MaggiWestmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.

20/08/15: Time is on your side...

The Vanguard 2015 Index Chart

Every year, fund manager Vanguard produce a graphical, chronological 'snapshot' of the performance of local and international sharemarkets, property, cash and bonds, along with significant news events of the day. Always worth a look. Read more here

Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.

29/07/15: China: What you need to know

Market update...

The Chinese share market has fallen dramatically in recent months. So what does this mean for you? Read more here

Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.

06/07/15: Greece after the "no" vote

Should you be worried?

As generally expected, the "No" vote won the day, with over 60% of Greeks rejecting further 'austerity' measures. So clearly it's back to the negotiating table, for now. So what does this mean for investors going forward. Read more here

Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.