The InvestSense Podcast

The software sector's reckoning has hit global growth managers hard, some down 15% or more in three months. So how has Munro Partners emerged largely unscathed? Portfolio manager Qiao Ma explains how disciplined risk management and genuine diversification made the difference, and where Munro is finding opportunity now.  Learn more www.investsense.com.au/industry-articles/shovels-not-software-where...

What began as a targeted air campaign has rapidly escalated into the defining market event of 2026. Operation Epic Fury, the joint US-Israeli military action against Iran, has entered its second week with no credible diplomatic off-ramp in sight. The Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly 20% of global oil and LNG transits — has been effectively shut for nine days, with tanker traffic at zero an...

The US-Israeli strikes on Iran have markets running the familiar playbook - oil up, gold up, risk assets down. But Andrew Hunt sees a more nuanced picture. Central banks already have a quarter of a trillion dollars in liquidity ready to deploy over the coming weeks, which may stabilise the immediate shock. Learn more  www.investsense.com.au/industry-articles/iran-strike-central-banks-will-probably...

A volatile February ended with markets caught between competing forces: fading tariff uncertainty, a technology sector in flux, and a sharp geopolitical escalation in the Middle East that has injected fresh risk into the outlook. Get access to the graphs:  www.investsense.com.au/industry-articles/a-volatile-february-ends-with-geopolitics-front-and-centre   Join the InvestSense Community to receive...

Andrew Hunt's outlook has turned notably more cautious since the previous conversation a few weeks earlier. The core thesis centers on a deterioration in global capital flows into the US, which he sees as the key vulnerability markets have been overlooking. Join the InvestSense Community to receive weekly insights from our investment team: https://www.investsense.com.au/investsense-insights?utm_so...

Whatever else happened in markets last week — and there was plenty — it was all overshadowed by a single event on Friday afternoon. The US Supreme Court, in a 6–3 ruling, struck down the bulk of President Trump's emergency tariffs, finding that IEEPA does not authorise the President to impose import duties. Trump immediately announced a replacement 15% global levy under Section 122 of the Trade Ac...

The past week delivered a tale of two markets. On one side, a reassuring U.S. inflation print and a surprisingly strong labour market report suggested the American economy remains on solid footing. On the other hand, a punishing rotation out of technology stocks reminded investors that the AI investment boom carries real risks and that concentration in a handful of mega-cap names can cut both ways...

Markets spent the first week of February grappling with an unusually dense set of cross-currents, an Australian rate hike, a crisis of confidence in big-tech capital spending, volatile commodity prices, and a US data picture clouded by the partial government shutdown. But beneath the headline volatility, the more interesting story may be what's happening under the surface: a rotation trade gaining...

Tassos Stassopoulos, founder of Trinetra Investment Management, has spent over two decades focusing on a different opportunity, the emerging market consumer. Trinetra’s approach has always eschewed the tech-heavy markets of North Asia in favour of economies where domestic consumption drives growth: Indonesia, China, Brazil, Peru, and Chile.  The big driver of the emerging market indices recently h...

The final week of January delivered a stark reminder that even the most powerful trends can reverse abruptly when the right catalyst emerges. Gold's precipitous 10% fall and silver's eye-watering 30% decline, dominated headlines, yet the month overall proved constructive for diversified portfolios. Get access to the graphs: www.investsense.com.au/industry-articles/january-closes-with-golds-dramati...

A month after our year-end review, Economist Andrew Hunt's message when we spoke to him earlier this week had sharpened: the U.S. credit boom continues at a blistering pace, but the foreign capital that sustained 2025's rally is becoming erratic. The result is an increasingly binary outlook where timing matters more than ever. Get access to the graphs:  https://www.investsense.com.au/industry-arti...

Markets navigated a turbulent week as the collision of geopolitical uncertainty and shifting monetary policy expectations drove dramatic moves across asset classes, with Australian inflation data adding further fuel to an already volatile mix. Get access to the graphs: www.investsense.com.au/industry-articles/gold-surges-and-the-dollar-slides-as-inflation-data-cements-australian-rate-hike-expectat...

In our latest check-in with Fortlake’s Dr Christian Baylis from Fortlake Asset Management we discuss why Australian bonds are offering value, why credit quality matters more than chasing yield and where diversification can still be found in 2026. Join the InvestSense Community to receive weekly insights from our investment team: https://www.investsense.com.au/investsense-insights?utm_source=Podcas...

Global markets experienced a turbulent week as investors juggled geopolitical uncertainty, shifting sector dynamics and the early stages of Q4 earnings season. In short: Money kept moving away from big tech into smaller companies. The Russell 2000 outperformed for a tenth straight session while most of the Mag 7 declined. Importantly, more than 300 S&P 500 stocks were higher despite index weak...

After a holiday period that saw the traditional Santa rally fail to materialise, 2026 has begun with renewed vigour across global markets. The rotation trade that defined much of 2025 appears to be reasserting itself, with emerging markets and global small caps leading the charge in early January trading. Get access to the graphs:  www.investsense.com.au/industry-articles/markets-start-2026-with-m...

Andrew Hunt speaks with Jonathan Ramsay about how record foreign inflows, led by China, kept markets elevated despite weakening fundamentals. They explore why the composition of those flows has shifted and what early signs of reversal could mean for markets heading into 2026. Learn more: www.investsense.com.au/industry-articles/2025-year-in-review-part-two-the-year-capital-flows-defied-expectation...

ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland made it clear at the 2025 Researcher Forum that private credit is now an enforcement priority, with the adviser channel squarely in focus. Done well, private credit plays an important role in the financial system, but ASIC has raised serious concerns around governance, transparency, fees and valuations across a sector that has grown 500% in a decade to more than $20...

The past week delivered a notable shift in market psychology, with investors increasingly grappling with the prospect that the next move for several central banks may be up rather than down, except for in the all important US market. Australian assets bore the brunt of this repricing, though the theme resonated globally. Get access to the graphs: www.investsense.com.au/industry-articles/rate-hike-...

Economist Andrew Hunt's concerns about China's policy constraints and shifting capital flows paint a challenging macro picture and in the past when the U.S. sneezed Emerging Markets caught pneumonia. Then in the GFC China bucked that trend by pushing the $1.5 trillion spend button. However, this time is different again. Chinese manufacturing PMI remains in contraction, fiscal spending is down shar...

Global markets navigated a complex week as central bank policy paths continued to diverge sharply across regions. In short: What: Australia’s inflation rose to 3.8% and private capex surged 6.3%, removing the case for RBA rate cuts. Why it matters: Higher-for-longer rates put Australia out of sync with global easing and lift funding and borrowing costs. What: The UK budget offered more fiscal room...

This week we spoke to our consulting economist, Andrew Hunt, who has just returned from extensive meetings with U.S. investment banks and U.S. officials with an increasingly cautious assessment of global economic prospects. His message: the world may be on the cusp of a severe slowdown, with significant implications for Australian investors. Read the article: www.investsense.com.au/industry-articl...

Markets endured a turbulent week that ultimately resolved with a more constructive tone. The week began under pressure from uncertainty around Fed policy, delayed U.S. economic data, and geopolitical tensions, before rebounding strongly as rate cut expectations firmed and risk appetite returned. Get access to the graphs: www.investsense.com.au/industry-articles/a-week-of-two-halves   Join the Inve...

The past week has been characterised by heightened volatility and risk-off sentiment across global markets, with investors grappling with a unique combination of data uncertainty, inflation concerns, and mounting nervousness ahead of key corporate earnings. The NASDAQ and Russell 2000 have been particularly volatile although other developed markets like Japan, Europe and Australia have ended up in...

Markets ended last week on the back foot as investors became concerned about the extent of AI capex and high U.S. equity valuations before making up all that lost ground on progress of an end to the U.S. Government shutdown.      Get access to the graphs: www.investsense.com.au/industry-articles/markets-navigate-mixed-signals-as-q3-ends   Join the InvestSense Community to receive weekly insights f...

Global markets experienced significant volatility over the past week as investors grappled with shifting central bank narratives, record tech valuations, and evolving trade dynamics between the world's largest economies. Get access to the graphs:  www.investsense.com.au/industry-articles/cautious-central-banks-and-overconfident-markets   Join the InvestSense Community to receive weekly insights fr...