The Intergenerational Report seems to state the bleedin' obvious!

One of the clearest (and concerning) presentations we have seen in the past few months on the problems that Australia is facing was given by John Daley, the CEO of the Grattan Institute. His views were reaffirmed in Wednesday's Editorial & Opinion section of the Australian Financial Review.

Put simply Daley's argument is that based on current facts and future assumptions the government's income and expenditure outlook is broken. The current budget deficit of around $40 billion a year is not going to be fixed in short-term, and unless it is addressed, it's going to get worse.

We have an ageing population, which apart from the social, health and demographic issues is going to result in increasing pressures on the budget, with a larger proportion of the population relying on welfare, and a smaller proportion (62% by 2050) of the population in the workforce and therefore contributing tax revenue.

As Janine Perrett from the Switzer Report noted today governments need the vision and political will (both of which in her opinion are totally lacking today) which enabled superannuation and the GST to be introduced which were both big picture innovations that have had significant ramifications since.

Whether either side of politics currently has either vision or political will is debatable. However the current system where everyone wants more from the government, either in the form of handouts or taxation concessions, while paying less tax, is simply not going to solve the problem.

Sooner or later the current sacred cows such as concessional superannuation taxation in retirement phase, negative gearing, and welfare for the wealthy are going to have to be addressed. Sooner or later one side of politics or the other, preferably both, are going to have to bite the bullet and increase and broaden the GST.

In our mind the sooner the better because in the meantime we are just digging the hole, out of which we will all have to climb, deeper.

Specific results received this week include the following PERFORMANCE UPDATES:

In January, Alpha Beta Asian Fund returned -1.30%, bringing the Fund's return since inception to 20.90%.

Chris
CEO, AUSTRALIAN FUND MONITORS

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Digital Marketing for Banking & Financial Services 2015 Summit

25-27 March 2015 at the Grace Hotel, Sydney

Digital Marketing for Banking and Financial Services Summit will explore how the finance industry could Optimise digital technologies and savvy marketing strategies to acquire and convert customers, increase revenue and an unparalleled competitive edge.

Conference Overview

There is little doubt the financial sector has lagged behind other industries, in its adoption of digital technology as part of its marketing planning and execution. As customers become increasingly tech savvy, digitally centered and view banking as a thing you do and not a place you go to, it is imperative the financial industry comes out from the shadows to forge a strong presence in the digital sphere. Coupled with a generally negative public perception, financial institutions need to develop strategies that will gain the trust and confidence of customers in order to stay visible, competitive and drive revenue. Todays marketers must know how to reach customers across multiple channels, with positive and credible messages and meet them on their terms in a transparent and personalised way.

This landmark three day conference and workshop event has been designed to provide a comprehensive range of subject matter to ensure industry marketers are well equipped to develop more customer centric strategies and use all available data and technologies effectively to reach, acquire and ultimately convert and retain customers.

Delegates will be saturated with a myriad of case studies from financial institutions which have excelled in the use of digital technology to win over customers. Invaluable insights will be shared which can be directly applied to organisations to improve existing marketing campaigns or kick start new ones.

Book today to reserve your place at this must attend event on the 2015 digital marketing event calendar.

Dates: 25-27^th March 2015
Time: 8:30am - 5:30pm
Location: Grace Hotel, Sydney

Specific topics over three jammed packed days include:

• Latest trends and future directions in digital technologies
• Optimal use of data and analytics
• Segmented and personalised marketing
• Brand and image revamping
• Search Engine Optimisation, SEO
• Compelling content development across multi platforms
• Utilising the power of social media
• Enhancing customer experiences and engagement
• Mobile marketing and emerging payment technologies
• Banking disruptors
• Legalities behind digital marketing in the finance sector
• Alignment of technology and marketing
• Marketing Automation
• Programmatic Buying

Who will attend?

CMOs, and senior personnel in marketing, and advertising, digital and interactive, analytics, content development, research, branding, and customer relations, and strategy; Media Agencies, Consultants, Vendors and Solutions Providers in Communications, Strategy, SEO, Automation, Social Media and CRM, Analytics, Research and Software and all other stakeholders in the digital marketing realm will benefit from the broad yet highly relevant subject matter.

To register for the conference please download the brochure and fax the form to IBRC or you can email [email protected] or call:

Registrations Manager
IBR Conferences Pty Ltd
Tel: +61 (0) 2 9896 0776 | Fax: +61 (0) 2 9896 0796 | [email protected] | http://www.ibrc.com.au

• Totus Capital is a Sydney based long short fund manager established in 2012 by Ben McGarry which aims to place equal emphasis on performance and capital preservation.  The Fund invests mainly in Australia, but also in other developed economies, with a primary exposure to equity markets.
• The Totus Alpha Fund?s investment strategy is to identify structural themes, and then seek to drive performance by investing in securities that have concentrated exposure to those themes.  Single stock short positions are used to generate alpha, frequently in under researched parts of the market such as the small and mid-cap space. Index derivatives are used to hedge the portfolio?s market risk.
• McGarry qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PWC in 1999 and has 14 years market experience, commencing his career covering European building materials and construction sectors at Morgan Stanley in London. Previous experience included analytical roles at Ausbil, a Sydney based $10bn+ long-only manager, and sell side emerging companies experience at UBS. McGarry?s emerging company research with UBS included exposure to a range of sectors including energy, materials, industrials, tech, financials, retail and telecommunications.
• The Fund has delivered an annalised return of 26.95% since inception in March 2012 as compared to 14.11% for the ASX 200 Accumulation Index. The standard deviation has been higher than the Index at 13.21% as compared to 11.02% and the Sharpe ratio is 1.67.