Philip Brown

Indexed annuity bonds (IAB) - how they work and their many benefits

While IAB bonds are sometimes perceived as being complex for their unique features, they are not so complicated once you know how to think about them. In this article, we take a closer look at IABs and how they work.

Opinion

Portfolio Construction: The interaction of yield, slope, and return

In this article, we take a look at the 7 steps through four different possible outcomes for the RBA. The scenarios range from an unexpectedly high interest rate outcome to a rate cut cycle that would only occur if the economy materially weakened.

The Evolution of a Bond’s Clean Price Over Time

In this article, we explain the most common types of bonds and explore the likely evolution of their prices over time.

Education (basics),Education

Understanding the Semi-Government bond market

In this article, we take a look at the Semi-Government Bonds, who sells and buys them, what types of bonds are available, yields, and advantages and disadvantages of Semi-Government Bonds.

Education (basics),Education

How to find balance and position your Fixed Income Portfolio in the current market

In this article, we look at how best to construct a balanced portfolio through the inclusion of fixed coupon, or floating rate notes and inflation-linked bonds and the benefits each type of bond offers.

BBSW - what is it and how is it used

In this article, our Head of Research, Philip Brown, summarises what BBSW is, how it behaves, and what is meant by bank bills, BBSY, swaps and benchmarks. The Bank Bill Swap Rate, commonly known as BBSW, is the most common measure of short-dated interest rates in Australia. Strictly speaking, it is the rate at which Australia’s prime banks borrow money for short periods, like three months or six months. BBSW is normally near, but just above, the RBA cash rate.

Macroeconomic Questions and Answers

As part of the recent FIIG webinar on the Macroeconomic Outlook, we opened the (digital) floor to questions. Working on the theory that if one person is curious enough to publicly ask the question, a lot more people are curious enough to know the answer, we present the questions from that webinar with answers written by FIIG’s Head of Research, Philip Brown.

The Macro Landscape: Taking a second look at 2024

FIIG research has published a detailed analysis of the outlook for 2024 and then followed it up with a detailed webinar on the same topics. For both the outlook for 2024 and for analysis of the RBA, the key to understanding is, in our view, to take a second look at the question to understand the details a little below the surface. In this article, we will take a closer look at the state government capex spending, cash rates around the world, labour markets in Australia and a LOCK strategy to guide successful bond market investing in 2024.

Education (basics)

A beginner's guide to Asset-Backed Securities

Asset-backed securitisation is a funding technique that allows the pooling of a large number of loans into a single financing vehicle, which then issues a number of different tranches of debt with varying seniority.

Trade opportunities

The Benefits of a Portfolio Risk Review

FIIG’s Investment Strategy Team conducts an annual review of client portfolios, in addition to portfolio reviews carried out throughout the year. This assists clients to better understand the construction of their portfolios to make more insightful investment decisions.

General

The RBA, the interest rate cycle and duration

The RBA, the interest rate cycle and duration: Peaks in the cash rate create stable bond yields, but the rally starts well before the RBA cuts rates.