Mark Beyer

PERTH-BASED think tank the Centre for International Strategic Analysis has adopted a new name to signify a broadening of its focus. Under its new name, Future Directions International (FDI), it will provide high-level strategic advice to government and

Executive remuneration is one of the most contentious issues in Australian business. Mark Beyer looks behind the raw numbers to find the ‘best value’ executives.

A RECENT Macquarie Equities report on SME banking was titled Small Business: River of Gold. It’s a title that should send a chill down the spines of small business operators.Macquarie estimated that SME banking would generate at least $2.8 billion in...

A SWOT analysis is a ‘tried and true’ business planning tool, but business advisers believe many organisations fail to use this tool properly.The process of preparing a SWOT analysis is relatively straightforward. The hard part is the next step. How ...

THE lure of opening a popular new cafe or restaurant continues to attract many aspiring business operators.And despite the two-year-old ‘tech wreck’ on the stock market, computing and the Internet are also growth areas for new business operators.The..

THE business banking market in WA is dominated by five institutions – Perth-based BankWest plus the four major national banks.These banks are the main financial institution for 99 per cent of WA businesses, according to a Yellow Pages Small Business ...

WA business icon Clough Limited is officially a public company but retains the character of a family company, according to broking analysts.This harsh assessment follows Clough’s shock profit warning earlier this week, which analysts believe reveals ...

THE banking industry is looking to business lending to take up the slack following an expected drop in housing lending.Business lending increased by just 4.3 per cent in the year to September 2002, according to the Reserve Bank.This compares with 19..

THE editorial team at WA Business News has been strengthened with the appointment of Mark Beyer (right) as senior journalist.

AUSTRALIAN investors can expect to hear a lot more about absolute return funds in future.Absolute return is the increasingly common, and more illuminating, name for hedge funds.

RESIDENTIAL property has delivered very pleasing returns for investors over the past few years, in stark contrast to the dismal returns from shares.

RESEARCHERS in the US are focusing not on investment fundamentals but investor psychology to explain the wild swings in investment markets.

NOW is not the time for investors to abandon ‘growth’ assets such as shares and property.

AMP has kicked along the rapid growth of Australia’s ‘hybrid’ securities market with its offer of up to $1.15 billion of ‘reset preferred securities’ (RPS).

THE weakness in global share markets has created a fertile environment for promoters of capital guaranteed share investment loans.

TWO very different – and in one case groundbreaking – competitors have entered the corporate superannuation market this month.The groundbreaker is REST, one of Australia’s largest ‘industry’ super funds. It has become the first industry fund to esta...

A FEW months is a long time in financial markets, as investors who switched to fixed rate housing loans will have discovered to their cost.

THE average investor in managed funds has earned less than one third of the overall stockmarket return, a new US study has found.

AUSTRALIAN investors can select from a small but growing number of ‘index’ funds.Vanguard Investments, the global pioneer of index funds, offers an Australian Share Fund, which aims to track the S&P/ASX 300 index, before fees and expenses.

WESTPAC’S purchase of BT Financial Group last month has reinforced the dominance of a handful of big players in retail funds management.

THE growing popularity of master funds and wrap accounts has been one of the main themes of the managed funds industry over recent years.Westpac CEO David Morgan acknowledged as much when he announced the purchase of BT Financial Group last month.

CENTRAL bankers are renowned for making obscure comments that market watchers struggle to un-ravel.Australia’s Reserve Bank may be trying to break the mould judging by the relative clarity of its recent pronouncements.

AUSTRALIA’S listed in-vestment companies mostly defied the sharp downturn in equity markets to post positive returns last year.

THE positive returns achieved by most listed investment companies last financial year (see main article) has not been matched by managed equity funds.

ADMINISTRATION platforms may not sound like an exciting concept, but they are generating hot competition in the financial planning industry.

THE latest prospectus from investment manager Direct-Portfolio neatly illustrates some of the emerging trends in investment styles.

SEPARATELY managed accounts are a relatively new product in Australia, but investors can expect to hear a lot more about them in the future.

ASSISTANT Treasurer Helen Coonan has dismissed concerns that Australia’s superannuation system will leave many people with inadequate retirement incomes.

THE Federal Government has started cranking up its campaign to give workers the right to select their own superannuation fund.

EVERY time interest rates move up or down, most of the media commentary invariably focuses on the impact on homebuyers.

WHEN the Reserve Bank decided earlier this month to leave interest rates unchanged, it caught most pundits by surprise.

PUBLIC surveys consistently show that accountants and family or friends are the most common sources of financial and investment advice.