The prophets of doom are blowing their recession horns. Accordingly, investors want to hold assets that can be bulwarks against whatever's driving recession - that being inflation in today's case. And that's what today's edition of The Rules of Investing is all about.
Livewire's James Marlay sat down with Warryn Robertson, who is a portfolio manager and analyst at Lazard Asset Management. Warryn's responsible for managing the Global Equity Franchise Strategy as well as Lazard's well-known Global Listed Infrastructure Fund - which has roughly $20 billion under the hood. 
Today's episode will focus on infrastructure - a topic we know is front of mind for our readers. In our recent survey infrastructure ranked third as the asset class they're most likely to increasing exposure to over the next 12 months. 
Warren founded the infrastructure strategy back in 2005 and it has returned 10.7% per annum since then. 
You'll hear why infrastructure is "the best inflation protection you can get".  But don't go running off to market before pressing play on this episode - as it can't be just any old infrastructure. 
He also explains how Lazard value their assets, the key thing the whole investment industry missed during COVID, the increasing trend towards privatisation of infrastructure and a near monopoly asset that he believes offers compelling value. 
This episode was recorded on June 23, 2022.

The best inflation protection you can get

The Rules of Investing is one of Australia’s top investing podcasts. We interview the leading investment minds from Australia and overseas to better understand their processes, philosophy, and current take on markets. After launching in October 2017, there have been over 100 episodes published - you can access all content on Livewire Markets, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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While "survival of the fittest" certainly applies to the Earth's abundance of flora and fauna, it may be time for investors to take a page out of Darwin's book.
 
That's according to FNArena's Rudi Filapek-Vandyck, who believes the market has irreversibly changed since 2014 - as has the way investors should value stocks.
 
In this episode, Rudi outlines why he believes technological innovation will transform the market as we know it. He also discusses some of his favourite ASX-listed stocks to play the AI theme, the importance of quality companies in today's markets, and what it takes for a company to be an all-weather stock.
















 






Note: This episode was recorded on Wednesday 29 May 2024. Note #2: Ally was today years old when she learnt what R.E.M. is, she apologises for any harm her ignorance may have caused hardcore fans. If it's any excuse, the song was released seven years before she was born. 
 
https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/rudi-ai-is-the-end-of-investing-as-we-know-it

Rudi: AI is the end of investing as we know it

Hello and welcome to the Rules of Investing, brought to you by Livewire Markets. This week’s guest is on a mission to truly surprise our listeners. He believes investors are underappreciating the real impact of artificial intelligence on markets and how we value stocks. In fact, he believes it’s the end of the world as we know it. 
I’m talking of course, of FNArena’s Rudi Filapek Vandyck. 
Here’s a sneak peek of what you can expect….

Trailer: Rudi Filapek-Vandyck

There seems to be no stopping Australia's ultra-wealthy, with the number of billionaires down under growing by 14.4% over the past 12 months, to a record 159 people. For some context, in 2020, this number was 117, according to The Australian. 
While it's wonderful to daydream about what you would buy or do with a few billion dollars, the true secret success of the ultra-wealthy is their ability to stay that way. After all, how many stories have you read of lottery winners squandering their newfound wealth just a few short years later? 
So, how do the other half continue to grow their wealth? 
To find out, Livewire sat down with MRB House's Peter Magee and Walsh Capital's Louise Walsh for their insights into how Australia's ultra-wealthy invest as part of Livewire's Undiscovered Funds Series. 
They share their tips and tricks for identifying "exceptional" funds, outline the factors that are important to their processes, share what to do when a fund isn't performing as expected, and name one recently launched fund that has impressed in recent years. 
Note: This interview was recorded on Wednesday 15 May 2024. 
https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/the-investment-secrets-of-australia-s-billionaires

The investment secrets of Australia's billionaires

In investing, just as in love, trust is everything - and without it, you really don't have anything at all. 
It's for this reason that the Wilson Asset Management global equities team meets with more than 700 management teams across the world each year - including in the US, Japan, and Europe. In addition, they also meet with competitors and suppliers, as well as talk to current and past employees and industry experts. 
According to WAM Global (ASX: WGB) lead portfolio manager Catriona Burns, the team does this because trust in a company's management team is paramount. 

"Have they hit their targets? Have they done what they said? If we have any doubts on that trust factor, for us, that's completely a non-negotiable and we won't invest," she says. 
Burns is reading between the lines, and looking beneath the surface for red flags. And while management teams selling stock, poor track records and value-destructive deals can certainly be warning signs, she argues that alignment - and the lack thereof - can often be far more telling for the future direction of a company's share price. 
"Incentives drive outcomes... I can't tell you how many times I have seen incentives for management based on earnings per share growth," she says. 
 "Companies just chase acquisitions to meet earnings growth without thinking about the returns that are being generated on the dollars spent. That happens time and time again and is a massive red flag." 
In this episode of The Rules of Investing, Burns takes listeners through some of the companies that have managed to pass her filters, as well as why catalysts are so important for investors with a penchant for value. 
She also outlines why the listed investment company's growing annual yields won't be slowing over the next five years, what it's actually like on the ground in the US right now, as well as what the US election at the end of the year could mean for markets. 
Note: This interview was recorded on Tuesday 14 May 2024. 
https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/700-meetings-each-year-how-wam-global-uncovers-under-the-radar-stocks

The best inflation protection you can get

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