In its first year, Investment Magazine’s Market Narratives podcast has become a staple must-listen series of conversations with thought leaders at home and abroad influencing the world of fiduciary investing.

Racking up 75 episodes and now approaching 17,500 downloads, this year’s interviews anchored by Conexus Financial’s Alex Proimos have traversed some of the most pressing issues facing heads of investment teams, asset class specialists, influential consultants and those at the helm of the country’s largest superannuation schemes.

Listen back through the 10 most popular interviews (below) from the Market Narratives series in 2020 ranked by user downloads.

1. Danielle DiMartino Booth says coronavirus pandemic could trigger credit crisis

A former adviser to the US Federal Reserve said increased volatility in bonds and turmoil in the money markets from the outbreak of the coronavirus could signal a looming credit event despite the Fed’s latest bid to inject liquidity into the system.

 

2. Sicilia: No cash-flow crisis, critics ‘simply wrong’

Hostplus CIO Sam Sicilia says critics are “simply wrong” about the fund facing a cash flow short-age, and argues the labels growth and defensive have become obsolete to the point of being “nonsensical”.

 

 

3. Sports gambling ‘army’ distorting stock market

A surge of interest in day trading through online brokers like Robinhood is distorting the market and creating challenges for fiduciary investors, according to US market commentator Jim Bianco.

 

 

4. UniSuper’s John Pearce chooses China, airports and pipelines

China and the US engaging in a prolonged economic and political cold war is a much larger risk than a trade war between the two countries, says UniSuper’s John Pearce.

 

 

 

5. Jack Gray: Australia better off with ‘one or two’ super funds

The Australian superannuation industry would be a lot less wasteful if it were amalgamated into one or two giant funds, argues one industry veteran.

 

 

 

6. Moral outrage at super system ‘justified’: Daley

The former Grattan Institute CEO isn’t pulling any punches in his assessment of the “sharp knife” that is our super system. The “20 to 30” billion dollars it costs to run our retirement savings each year may be terrific for people working in the industry, he says, but not for the rest of the country.

 

 

7. AMP Capital co-investing alongside hedge funds to add idiosyncratic returns

Seeking reduced correlation to other strategies such as equities, AMP Capitals’ Anastassia Juventin says co-investment aims to enhance the idiosyncrasy of hedge fund return streams.

 

 

 

8. Internalisation and the creation of an integrated operating model

Rob Leck, director at Cutter Associates,  describes the benefits on internalisation beyond long-term cost reduction from fee savings through consideration of operating model, people, processes, technology & governance.

 

9. The power of the eyes in finding fraudulent actors

With no immediate end in sight to travel restrictions the due diligence activities of investors are being severely impeded. Castle Hall’s Alex Wise discusses what this means for due diligence programs in 2020.

10. Cambooya family office war chest ready and waiting

One of Australia’s oldest and most mature family offices, Cambooya, is taking a wait-and-see posture to new investments this year, viewing equities as over-priced and doubtful that private equity opportunities will be as lucrative as many believe, according to its head of investments, Kathryn Young.

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