KEY THEMES FOR THE QUARTER
- Strong Equity Returns from Developed & Emerging Markets
- Australian Equity Returns Modestly Positive
- Strong Value Premium in Australia; Mixed Elsewhere
- Positive Size Premium in Australian and Developed Markets
- Positive Term and Credit Premiums in Fixed Interest
- US Dollar Mixed; Down Vs Australian Dollar
Dominating the third quarter’s international news headlines were global tensions over North Korean missile tests, destructive hurricanes in the US and Caribbean, and Germany’s national elections in which Angela Merkel secured a fourth term. Canada raised benchmark interest rates twice, in the first monetary tightening in seven years.