Brad Fox

Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane venues for the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA)’s National Roadshow (the AFA Roadshow) are almost at capacity as the event, which focuses on the age of the consumer, launched in Hobart yesterday morning.

Brad Fox, Chief Executive Officer of the AFA, said interest in the AFA Roadshow is an indication that advisers are taking the initiative in developing their knowledge and skills for the benefits of their clients.

“We have had an outstanding response to the AFA Roadshow with very few seats now available for the event along the Eastern seaboard,” he said. “The fact that this event, like the AFA GenXt roadshow, is almost a sell out, demonstrates the commitment advisers are making post-July 1 to push through the tough times and continue doing what they do best – providing quality advice to consumers.”

Of all major events in the final advice profession, Mr Fox said the AFA Roadshow attracts the largest attendance nationally.

“The AFA Roadshow program delivers multiple opportunities for personal and professional growth,” Mr Fox said. “It is also a great opportunity to network with like-minded professionals from across Australia, all focused on providing great outcomes for their clients and constantly striving to achieve more in the space.”

Mr Fox urged advisers to register for the event now in order to avoid disappointment.

“Although there are very limited places in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, there are still seats available in South Australia and Western Australia,” he said.

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Arian Neiron

Market Vectors ETF Trust (Market Vectors), the exchange traded fund (ETF) business of Van Eck Global, today announced the appointment of Arian Neiron as Managing Director of its Australian business.

Market Vectors was first launched in the US in 2006 and has grown to be a top-ten worldwide ETP provider. Market Vectors entered the Australian market in 2012 and is seeking to list new ETFs in Australia.

Neiron joined Market Vectors Australia in 2012 as Senior Director from management consulting firm Sunstone Partners, where he was a partner of the business and specialised in product and strategy for the asset and wealth management sectors. Previously, he worked for Perpetual for over eight years as a Senior Portfolio Specialist and Head of Product Development. Neiron also worked for Credit Suisse as Head of Product Development specialising in Alternative Investments, Hedge Funds, Commodities and Private Equity.

As Managing Director of the firm, Neiron will lead the Australian Market Vectors business, setting strategy and overseeing all product and distribution efforts. Neiron reports directly to Lars Hamich, Managing Director, International Business Development, Van Eck Global and Chief Executive Officer of Market Vectors Index Solutions.

“We are delighted to have someone of Arian’s calibre to lead our team in Australia. Arian has exceptional knowledge and experience in product development, strategy and distribution and we are confident that Arian will provide strong leadership and grow the business in Australia,” said Mr Hamich.

Market Vectors offers over 50 exchange traded products worldwide spanning international markets, commodities, emerging markets, global equities, fixed income and currency sectors. As of 31 May 2013, Market Vectors managed total assets of US$23.7 billion.

Arian Neiron, Managing Director, Market Vectors Australia said, “I am excited to lead the expansion of Market Vectors in Australia. We are fully committed to growing our presence locally by offering investors high-quality products, exceptional service and a focus on ETF education. The Australian ETF market is growing rapidly reaching A$7.7 billion in June 2013 – almost a 50 per cent increase from 12 months ago. We plan to participate and contribute to that growth by providing Australian investors with ETFs offering targeted exposure to important investment sectors and educating investors about the benefits of ETFs.”

Van Eck Global has a separate business based in Frankfurt, Germany called Market Vectors Index Solutions (MVIS). This business was founded to solely develop purpose-built indices specifically built for ETF investing. MVIS develops, monitors and markets the Market Vectors Indices. More than US$14.3 billion[1] is invested in investment products based on Market Vectors Indices.

“Many traditional indices have been developed to describe the market and measure its performance, however often they don’t provide the most representative, or most comprehensive basket of stocks for a given market sector. What sets most of our ETFs apart is our unique index methodology and rules governing the construction of the underlying indices. Most of our ETFs are built on purpose-built indices providing full replication, transparency, liquidity, diversification and pure play exposure to the underlying securities,” Mr Neiron said.

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After all, according to CMC Markets, Snake years have historically been the worst performing in investment market history.

So should investors really take fright and flee from the stock market?  “Not at all,” says Colin Cieszynski, Market Analyst CMC Markets Canada, “even if you really are making your investment decisions based on the Chinese lunar calendar, the reality is that Snake years have been mixed, with a pattern of positive followed by negative returns.  And if that pattern continues, we are set for a positive year in 2013.”

Mr Cieszynski said that the end of the Year of the Dragon has seen stock markets improve significantly. “Indices in the US and the UK are at their highest levels since 2007, and with improving economic data out of the US and China, investor appetite for riskier assets, like equities, is starting to come back,” he said.

But with the last Snake year, from February 2001 to March 2002, the worst Snake year ever for all markets, except Australia, can the curse of the Snake be avoided this year?

“We certainly think so,” says Mr Cieszynski.  “Part of the reason for the dire results in the last Snake year was the market sell-off post 9/11, so we shouldn’t read too much into it.”

“And the positive economic signs we are starting to see now have also produced a move by investors from defensive plays into equities, and this seems likely to continue.”

Mr Cieszynski explained that the biggest risk facing stock markets at the moment is also one of the reasons stock markets have been rallying. He said that QE3 in the US has been adding money at a rapid rate into the financial system in the US, and based on the experience of QE1 and QE2, it is likely that this hot fast money is artificially inflating stock and commodity prices.

“And we all know that what goes up must come down. Once QE1 and QE2 were completed, we saw a 10% correction in stock markets around the world.”

Mr Cieszynski concluded by saying that QE3 was a little bit different from QE1 and QE2 in that no end date has as yet been specified by the US Federal Reserve. “So depending on when the Fed decides to turn off the tap, investors may well find themselves well and truly bitten by the Snake this year, or even trampled by the Horse in 2014,” he said.

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