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Articles by Shane Woldendorp
Valuation-Driven Global Investing
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The case for and against US stock market exceptionalism
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Searching for value in tech stocks
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How would a switch to nuclear affect electricity prices?
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Now is the time to look different from the market
While many investors remain positioned for more of the same – such as being overweight the US market and megacap tech shares – Orbis believes that what worked in the last environment may not work in the next. After all, past performance is no guarantee of future performance. In Allan Gray’s latest Why Axis video, I show you why Orbis believes now is a good time to look markedly different from the market and ensure your client portfolios do too.
Why gold in 2024? Safeguarding investment portfolios
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Australia lags global dividend bonanza
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HMC Capital looks to mirror healthcare sector success with property focus in 2024
When news broke that HMC Capital engineered the merger of portfolio company Sigma Healthcare with distributer Chemist Warehouse Group in December, it was touted as the biggest M&A story of the year and sparked a ~50 per cent increase in the Sigma stock price.
The dangers of being too passive
2022 was the worst year for stocks since the global financial crisis, and the worst year for bonds in living memory. After the pain of 2022, it is comforting to believe that the hard times are over, and that a boom in artificial intelligence will drive the market higher, with investors rescued by the so-called “magnificent seven” US tech giants. Hope is seductive, but markets conspire to cause the greatest pain to the greatest number of investors. Today we see enormous scope for potential pain.
Securitisation stays strong through market turmoil, propped by non-bank lending growth
The domestic asset-backed securities (ABS) market has evolved into a critical source of funding in Australian capital markets, helping underserved borrowers while offering an increasingly diverse investment proposition. Importantly, it has also proven resilient to challenging financial conditions, largely supported by the growing non-bank lending sector.
The Iffy Fifty
This month, our sister company Allan Gray Proprietary Limited celebrated its 50th anniversary. To have thrived for so long is an inspiring achievement, and a testament to the legacy of our founder, Dr Allan Gray. Much has changed since 1973, but as others have observed, the market environment in 1973 has parallels with the current one. Both feature the widespread belief in an anointed collection of stocks seen as inevitable winners for decades to come.
Preparing for next decade's market winners
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Diversification is not a free lunch
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The future of value
Value has suffered a long period of being out of favour. Having thrived for nearly a century, value has lagged since the global financial crisis, suffering the deepest and longest drawdown in its history. But times change. That underperformance has left value stocks trading at exceptionally attractive prices, even after a good year in 2022.
Blood, booms and 'barefoot millionaires': The Anthony Menico story
For Anthony Menico, financial advice was in his blood whether he knew it or not. Growing up as the son of John Menico OAM, a legend in the Cairns area as both a financial adviser and a community volunteer, the younger Menico was destined for a place in the finance industry, but he didn’t quite know exactly in what role.
The magnificent middle
A mere seven stocks have accounted for nearly all of the gains in global equity markets this year. Strip out the so-called “Magnificent Seven”—Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Meta (NASDAQ: META), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)— and the rest of the US stockmarket has been slightly negative.
Gold Demand Trends Q2 2023
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Matildas reality check: little impact on the A-League
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The sun is rising again and this opportunity is too good to miss
Japan is a big overweight in the Orbis Global Equity Strategy. It’s big in global markets, too. Japan is the world’s second-largest developed stockmarket and home to over 600 companies with market values above $1 billion. That is as many sizable stocks as there are in every country in Europe combined. But despite its size, Japan is often left hanging on the periphery of investor attention. We can see why.
Stockmarket boom to stockpicker’s paradise
For anyone expecting the phenomenal stockmarket returns of the last decade to keep rolling, we have some sobering news. They probably won’t. If history is any guide, the best of times for investors tends to be followed by the worst of times. Given the post-GFC era was an amazing period for global equities, the next decade could prove much more challenging.
From stockmarket boom to stockpicker’s opportunity
For anyone expecting the phenomenal stockmarket returns of the last decade to keep rolling, we have some sobering news. They probably won’t. If history is any guide, the best of times for investors tends to be followed by the worst of times. Given the post-GFC era was an amazing period for global equities, the next decade could prove much more challenging.
Invest in equities until you reach your sleeping point
We can survive longer without food than without sleep. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention says most people will show adverse signs of sleep deprivation within 24 hours. Three days without sleep has a profound impact on mood and cognition, and chronic sleep deprivation increases the risk of disease, obesity, and diabetes. Health is more important than wealth, and anyone who regularly loses sleep or wakes in a sweat worrying about the stockmarket must reassess their priorities.
Can the battling Aussie dollar find a friend?
The Australian dollar has been stuck in the high 60-cent range against the US dollar for a while now. Aside from a brief look above the 70-cent area in January, it’s been generally stuck in a range of 65-70 cents since August last year. What is going on with the little Aussie battler? Are the days of the strong Aussie dollar behind us and are we entering a longer-term structural period of weakness? There is reason for optimism.
How to weight companies in a successful stock portfolio
As a fund manager, we like to talk about the stocks we hold: what the companies do, why they look attractive and how they fit with our investment philosophy. Stock picking is key to our investment philosophy. Outperforming over the long term, however, does not solely depend on the stocks you pick. It also depends on how you weight those stocks in your portfolio.
Cut tax breaks to make super fairer and the budget stronger
Australia’s $3.3 trillion superannuation system is supposed to boost people’s retirement incomes. The Government says as much in its proposed legislated objective for superannuation. The system is supported by billions of dollars of tax breaks each year, ostensibly to that end. But there’s just one problem. Increasingly, much of what is saved is never spent.
The 100-year-old Australian investment company you’ve never heard of
It’s one of Australia’s oldest listed investment companies, yet few investors have heard of it. While household Listed Investment Company (LIC) names such as Australian Foundation Investment Company and Argo Investments grab the limelight, low key is how Whitefield Ltd (ASX:WHF) prefers it. Late last week, Whitefield took the time to celebrate its 100th birthday in a closing bell ceremony at the Australian Stock Exchange in Sydney.
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