The world is opening, but not to calm and stability. 
Rather, COVID has left a trail of destruction. And I'm not talking about the health implications. The pandemic has left economies and markets rattled by supply chain problems, inflation, and rate hikes. 
Big tech has been hit the hardest as investors flee long-duration stocks. 
However, despite sharing an acronym, the big tech stocks have been split down the middle. Some companies are awash with cash and trading at extremely attractive multiples. Others look like emperors with no clothes.  
This is one of the topics Livewire's David Thornton tackles with Mary Manning from Alphinity Investment Management. Mary is a Portfolio Manager for the Alphinity Global Fund and Alphinity Global Sustainable Fund. She's been investing in global markets for over 20 years with stints working for Ellerston Capital, Oaktree Capital and Soros Fund Management.
We also go deep on US-China relations and compare the two starkly different markets, as well as Mary's interesting take on the ESG challenges brought about by Artificial Intelligence. 
Timestamps
1:00 - Back on the road and takeaways
2:00 - low-end vs high end-consumer
3:30 - Diverging FAANGS
8:20 - Big tech profitability
13:20 - US-China hostilities
16:00 - Operating in China
19:00 - Weaponised trade
25:30 - Investing in China
29:00 - Sustainability and AI
37:00 - 3 favourite questions

We’re in ’Tech Wreck 2.0”, and some big names won’t make it

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

We’re in ’Tech Wreck 2.0”, and some big names won’t make it

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