Link to IWP's July Update (PDF) - https://tinyurl.com/254t7rtv

This month Chris and Andrew walked through the months market and economic events.

Along with our usual analysis, we touched on the following key points:

Market volatility has increased with elections in several countries:

o France

o November US election

o India

o Mexico

o South Africa

US core Inflation has slowed to 2.6% – increasing the chance of rate cuts this calendar year

Persistent Inflation pressures here in Australia – and a potential disconnect between government and monetary policy.

Should you prefer this in video form, please head to YouTube - https://youtu.be/i76UGbdGxNE

June 2024 Summary:

This month Shane and Chris walk through the months market and economic events:

1. Unexpected rise in Australian unemployment (4.10% versus expected 3.9%)
2. 2024 Federal Budget – was it a net positive or negative for inflation?
3. Interest rates – both here in Australia and in the US
   • Australia - Bullock stating that the RBA will target a gradual approach as they want to maintain strong jobs
   • US – Economy looks to be slowing – e.g. Jobs Openings data overnight

Link to youTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fQse_tgRLA

Link to the Monthly Update Slide Deck - https://tinyurl.com/25mqj5zp

May 2024 Summary:

This month Cameron and Andrew walk through the economic and market events of May.

We continued to see more volatility markets, as the central banks around the world grapple with the direction of interest rates.

We also discussed the changing nature of the Australian economy over the last decade, and how population changes has shaped our various economic sectors.

As we have been saying for the last few months, ‘where to from here’ will be data dependent, and largely driven by interest rate expectations.

Link to youTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fQse_tgRLA

Link to the Monthly Update Slide Deck - https://tinyurl.com/25mqj5zp

March 2024 Summary:

This month Chris and Andrew walk through the start of 2024. It has been a fantastic 8 weeks for markets, as the turnaround since November has continued in earnest. We discuss how this has impacted portfolios, as well as the falling savings ratios and negative disposable income that Australian households are facing at the moment. We walk through what risks are still present, and we might look forward to over the remainder of 2024.

Link to youTube - https://youtu.be/-DoZqGrPqpg

Link to the Monthly Update Slide Deck - https://tinyurl.com/22gr8sbc

For the start of 2024 we decided to take a look back through calendar year 2023, as well as chat through the current expectations for the 2024 year.

To do so, we invited in Sean Hollins from Willis Towers Watson (WTW). Sean is the Head Portfolio Manager (Australia), and sits on the IWP investment Committee each quarter. WTW's input is invaluable when we make our portfolio asset allocation and investment decisions.

This month, Shane and Andrew talk through the market events of November. Returns have been strong across all assets classes. Financial data has shown a more rapid reduction in inflation than markets expected, both in Europe and the US.

In Australia, we are still waiting for service inflation to taper off - and this is continues to be a key item of interest for Michele Bullock and the Reserve Bank.

This month Chris, Shane and Andrew walk through the events of October. After a tough September for investors across all asset classes, we saw a marked improvement during October. Financial data is still mixed, and the direction for the rest of 2023 is still unclear.

This month Shane and Chris discuss the volatile month that was September. It looks like the higher for longer story is going to be with us for longer than the markets had hoped. We expect more volatility to come over the next 6 months.