Invest
‘Put arrogance in a box’ this financial year
The new financial year is a time to reflect, recalibrate and question whether investment decisions have been informed by wisdom or arrogance, a global portfolio strategist has said.
‘Put arrogance in a box’ this financial year
The new financial year is a time to reflect, recalibrate and question whether investment decisions have been informed by wisdom or arrogance, a global portfolio strategist has said.
Investors need to check their arrogance every so often to ensure they’re making smart decisions, State Street Global Advisors global portfolio strategist Thomas Reif told Nest Egg.
The question, “What makes you so special?” is a critical one for investors, he explained, as even professional investors can, and do, underperform at times.
“Unless you think you have a crystal ball, ask yourself, ‘What do you know that the market doesn't know?’” Mr Reif said.
“And if professional investors, guys who have done this for a living for all of their lives, can't outperform the market consistently, ‘What is so special about the idea that you have?’
“I'm not saying it's not special, but if you're looking at individual securities or individual positions, what makes you think that you know something that isn't in the price?”
In these instances, a little “modesty check” wouldn’t go astray, he said.
“Let’s put arrogance into a little box and have a look at the decisions we're making,” Mr Reif said.
He said the market tends to get it right over the long term and questioned the strength of concentrated positions potentially informed by undue confidence.
Pointing to Australia’s “disproportionate” home bias, Mr Reif warned that investors holding 40 per cent of their portfolio in domestic assets for growth have a “big weight to financials”.
It isn’t uncommon to have this weighting, he added, but the big four banks are essentially quite similar.
“If you look long-term, aside from the occasional scandal which drops the share price, they're all lending to the same population, be that corporates or individuals, they all do kind of the same thing in the long term,” Mr Reif said.
“If you're kind of buying one bank – it might well be a high-quality bank – is that representative of what's available in the world? You might want to consider investing internationally to diversify, to get exposure to things like the tech stocks out of the US or Chinese securities.”
RELATED ARTICLES
Property
2026 property expansion? Why disciplined investors will wait — and where to play offence
A growing chorus of market practitioners is urging investors to pause portfolio expansion in 2026 as returns compress and policy settings tighten. The headline risk is less about price crashes and ...Read more
Property
Cost, red tape and capital: why Australia’s housing pipeline is shrinking — and how to rebuild it
Australia’s housing pipeline is being choked by a toxic mix of escalating input costs, regulatory drag and tighter finance. The result: mid-market projects stall while luxury builds proceed, pushing ...Read more
Property
Start 2026 strong: Turn property advice into a data-driven advantage
In 2026, property professionals who industrialise goal-setting and risk management with data and AI will capture outsized client value. The playbook is shifting from intuitive advice to measurable, ...Read more
Property
Solar for renters isn’t just social policy — it’s a new operating model for residential property
Queensland’s Supercharged Solar for Renters program, backed by the REIQ, reframes the ‘split incentive’ that has stymied energy upgrades in rentals. With rebates of up to $3,500 per property and joint ...Read more
Property
Holiday towns as assets, not postcards: How to invest where the beach meets the balance sheet
Summer seduces capital to the coast, but the smart money treats holiday towns like operating businesses, not lifestyle trophies. Demand is seasonal, regulation is variable, and returns depend on ...Read more
Property
First Home Supply: a $10b bet on 100,000 keys — and a reshaping of Australia’s build-to-sell pipeline
Can $10 billion translate into 100,000 front doors for first-time buyers — without overheating costs or stalling on approvals? The new First Home Supply program signals a pivot from demand-side ...Read more
Property
Navigating the crunch: A 2025 case study of Australia’s housing market and the operators who outperformed
Australia’s 2025 property market was defined by a stubborn supply squeeze and cost-of-living pressure—tempered by rate cuts and targeted incentives. Yet a cohort of developers, lenders and agencies ...Read more
Property
Australia’s mortgage rebound: a 19% surge that reshapes pricing, risk and distribution
New APRA figures show new home lending jumped 18.9% in the September quarter year-on-year, signalling a demand recovery despite elevated rates. The upswing intensifies a three-way contest between ...Read more
Property
2026 property expansion? Why disciplined investors will wait — and where to play offence
A growing chorus of market practitioners is urging investors to pause portfolio expansion in 2026 as returns compress and policy settings tighten. The headline risk is less about price crashes and ...Read more
Property
Cost, red tape and capital: why Australia’s housing pipeline is shrinking — and how to rebuild it
Australia’s housing pipeline is being choked by a toxic mix of escalating input costs, regulatory drag and tighter finance. The result: mid-market projects stall while luxury builds proceed, pushing ...Read more
Property
Start 2026 strong: Turn property advice into a data-driven advantage
In 2026, property professionals who industrialise goal-setting and risk management with data and AI will capture outsized client value. The playbook is shifting from intuitive advice to measurable, ...Read more
Property
Solar for renters isn’t just social policy — it’s a new operating model for residential property
Queensland’s Supercharged Solar for Renters program, backed by the REIQ, reframes the ‘split incentive’ that has stymied energy upgrades in rentals. With rebates of up to $3,500 per property and joint ...Read more
Property
Holiday towns as assets, not postcards: How to invest where the beach meets the balance sheet
Summer seduces capital to the coast, but the smart money treats holiday towns like operating businesses, not lifestyle trophies. Demand is seasonal, regulation is variable, and returns depend on ...Read more
Property
First Home Supply: a $10b bet on 100,000 keys — and a reshaping of Australia’s build-to-sell pipeline
Can $10 billion translate into 100,000 front doors for first-time buyers — without overheating costs or stalling on approvals? The new First Home Supply program signals a pivot from demand-side ...Read more
Property
Navigating the crunch: A 2025 case study of Australia’s housing market and the operators who outperformed
Australia’s 2025 property market was defined by a stubborn supply squeeze and cost-of-living pressure—tempered by rate cuts and targeted incentives. Yet a cohort of developers, lenders and agencies ...Read more
Property
Australia’s mortgage rebound: a 19% surge that reshapes pricing, risk and distribution
New APRA figures show new home lending jumped 18.9% in the September quarter year-on-year, signalling a demand recovery despite elevated rates. The upswing intensifies a three-way contest between ...Read more
