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Should Australians use hedged international equites? Investing in international equities for an Australian involves taking on currency risk. So, on top of your returns being affected by the performance of those assets but also any exchange rate movements with that asset’s currency with the AUD. ETFs that take on this currency risk are referred to […]

Passive Emerging Market ETFs for Australians Emerging markets is around 10% – 15% of the world’s market-cap. Because it is such a small portion of the world, this exposure is often considered optional for those building a DIY portfolio. For those interested in adding this exposure, what are some things to keep in mind? Diversification

Factor Regressions for Australian Funds Factor regressions are used to estimate which factors drive a portfolio’s returns and by how much. Given there is no tool for Australians to calculate the factor regression of Australian-domiciled funds, I learnt to (hopefully correctly) calculate monthly factor regressions and have applied them to funds that I thought would

DFA and Avantis: The father and son of factor investing In the previous article, A Koala’s Guide to Factor Investing, I went through what factor investing is, the theory, the possible explanations for their existence, and some considerations if one wants to allocate to risk-premia factors. But how should one go about allocating to risk-premia

IVV and NDQ: The problem with US concentration When you start learning about investing, it is very likely that you have heard of the S&P 500 index, an index that invests in the top 500 US companies. It is the most well-known index that gets recommended by influencers and even popular figures like Warren Buffet.

Geared funds: are they suitable for long-term holding? Gearing, the act of borrowing money to invest, is commonly associated with investment properties, but can gearing be applied to stocks as well? Fund managers like Betashares and VanEck seem to think so with their recent additions of geared ETFs available to investors. However, how gearing affects

A Koala’s Guide to Factor Investing In my article, Why index funds are the optimal place to start, the academic literature suggests the average person should start with index funds. So what should a person who is not average do? Ignoring the philosophical question on what it means to be “average,” if someone is uncomfortable

Comparing indexed options between industry super funds Although fees are an important factor to consider when choosing a super fund, there are other considerations that people should be aware of. On top of fees, I’ll also be comparing index & market exposures and ESG implementation. I’ll also be explaining how Rest achieves 0% fees for

Active Management is a Viable Option for Emerging Markets We’ve all heard the passive beats active echoed over and over, citing the $1M bet made by Warren Buffet or the 90% of managers couldn’t beat the S&P 500 in a 10-year period. But is it really that clear cut? Although generally true, there is evidence

Next steps Investing for beginners: Part 8 of 8 If you’ve read through the whole beginner series, you should now have a solid foundation to start your investing journey by knowing the following: I say in the article that index funds are the optimal starting point for the average investor. If you are the average