Ever wondered why shares keep rising despite an increasingly troubled economic outlook? What do expressions like ‘don’t fight the Fed’ and ‘brrrr’ mean?

The end of the financial year is a great time to review your portfolio and ensure you are aware of the tax deductions and incentives that exist for your investments and your personal income. Many recent changes could offer benefits for certain taxpayers.

Small cap stocks have lagged large caps over the last twelve months, and are often forgotten as investors look to big names in times of trouble. Many Australian smaller companies have come to market seeking capital to ensure they can stay profitable post Covid19 and into a recovery.

With major Australian companies cutting and deferring dividends, investors relying on equities for income are facing a challenging year ahead. Martin Currie’s Australian equity team have crunched the numbers and estimate a cut of 40% in yield for the ASX200 in 2020.

Please note, this podcast was recorded in early March. Much has changed, however the investment thesis and ideas contained in this podcast are long term trends that remain relevant for investors.

Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, the rise of China was one of the driving growth opportunities behind many Australian companies and global mega-caps (think Tencent and Alibaba). Yet many other emerging markets offer similar trends – technological prowess, an educated and increasingly wealthy middle class, and rapid urbanisation.

Precipitous falls on global markets have been followed by thrilling bounces, while economic data is weak and getting weaker. Australia has so far avoided the worst of the health crisis, but its economic fortunes appear much less optimistic, with predictions of recession and even depression. So are share markets looking complacent?

Despite the horrendous toll of COVID19 dominating the headlines, markets are showing surprising resilience following their initial sharp falls. Recent bounces have been some of the largest in history, illustrating the optimism of some market participants. So is all the bad news priced in?

Platinum’s Dr Bianca Ogden has a PhD in virology, and manages their Global Healthcare Fund. On this podcast, Platinum’s Julian McCormack told investors to take money off the table in 2019, saying sectors of the market were hugely overvalued. So what are they saying now?

Kochie has been a business journalist – and a business owner – covering economics and business for more than four decades. He’s seen – and survived - the Global Financial Crisis, the tech wreck, 1987’s Black Monday, the Asian Financial Crises and even the Gold Crisis of the late 1970s. So what can he tell us about how to survive as an investor and/or as a business owner about how to manage the coming weeks and months?

The ASX200 had its largest one day fall since the GFC this week, the S&P500 was closed to prevent a fall of more than 7% in a session, and record highs are a distant memory. Coronavirus and oil shocks are creating worldwide disruption and investors are fearing recession – or worse.