Ideas

Australian investors don’t need to venture too far to take advantage of offshore growth opportunities and benefit from foreign currency earnings, but there are many other opportunities that Australian investors simply cannot get exposure to by investing locally.

The market capitalisation of ASX LICs and LITs finished 2019 above $53.1bn, a 12 month increase of 29.6%. During the quarter there were 3 new listings that raised a combined $2.3bn.

Key drivers of energy markets will be US-China trade tensions and the potential for a resolution, European economic activity, and supply constraints as new projects are subjected to increasing environmental and social scrutiny.

The macro issue of US-China trade tensions have dominated underlying market fundamentals. Key demand metrics have weaken over the course of 2019 due to poorer sentiment and the actual impact of trade restrictions.

The fundamentals and demographic trends for the healthcare and biotech sector remained strong in 2019 and we expect some of the key themes from this year to continue to play out in 2020.

The small to mid market cap biotech/healthcare section of the market has had a banner year in 2019 with numerous stocks enjoying the benefit of success in the clinic as well as regulatory and commercialisation success.