GRTV: Welcome to Good Returns TV

Publisher Philip Macalister introduces Good Returns TV and his first guest on the show, Andrew Bascand from Harbour Asset Management. Bascand says investors should halve their return expectations in an increasingly volatile market.

Tuesday, May 30th 2017, 12:32PM

This episode is also available as an audio podcast. Listen now or download using the controls below:

In the first of our new Good Returns TV series, publisher Philip Macalister sits down with Harbour Asset Management’s Andrew Bascand to hear why now is the time for active management.

Bascand said, after six or seven years of strong returns globally, the market was starting to change for investors.

“It’s been quite easy just being in the market, and you’ve got what we would call technically a ‘beta trade’, just being in the market. From now on, I think there’s a strong case to revert to active management, and that’s actually looking at what you are buying, thinking about which types of style or companies are really going to provide returns in the next five to 10 years.”

He said some investors might have forgotten what the volatility of five or 10 years ago was like.

“We’ve had very low inflation, very low interest rates and growth at a moderate level, and that environment has really kept companies in a good place. Is that going to persist forever? When we think about it, probably for the next 18 months or two years, that environment may remain reasonably benign, but markets are forward-looking. And so, when we look to 2019 or 2020, the prospect of maybe a recession somewhere in the world, it begins to lift. So, the clock is ticking.”

He said investors did not need to be fearful but they should consider their objectives and rebalance their portfolios, with lower return expectations than they had had in the past.

He said it could be a challenging time. “There is a lot of optimism regarding the world economy, optimism regarding markets, and we’re probably due for a little bit of a dampening in that optimism.”

To watch the full interview, click here.

To download an audio podcast, click here

To read the full transcript, click here

Tags: Active v Passive GRTV Harbour Asset Management