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EQUITY the trusted voice of shareholders DECEMBER VOL 28 #10 CONTENTS FEATURES THIS MONTH 04 REVIEW YOUR ASSET ALLOCATION As we approach the end of the year, Craig Keary from AMP Capital advises that now is the time to review your investment strategy and the appropriateness of your asset allocation. Uncertainty across the globe is impacting the financial markets and volatility is causing many investors to re-think their investment strategies. 06 WOOLWORTHS: ARE THE GLORY DAYS OVER When analysing a retailer’s growth prospects, like-for-like growth is one of the most important measures. So with Coles outperforming Woolworths on this key measure for 21 consecutive quarters, is Woolworths going bad 07 PORTFOLIO PLANNING FOR THE HOLIDAYS Fancy some portfolio self-diagnosis over the holidays Doug Turek of Professional Wealth has put together some key indicators you might use to study your investment portfolio health. MORE INSIDE... MY INVESTING JOURNEY AGM BRICKBATS BOUQUETS& 08 10 15 REPORTS LIFTING THE GAME WITH SHAREHOLDER ENGAGEMENT WEBSITE UPDATE INVESTING 16 17 18 TIPS ASA 20 21 22 events
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ian Curry FCPA FCIS Dip Fin Planning Max Bonpain BMan MBA MMktg Betty Clarke-Wood ACIP Diana D’Ambra BCom MCom FCA MAICD Clare Mazzetti BEc MBA AFMA AICD SDIA Barry Nunn AO BE NATIONAL OFFICE Silvana Eccles National Operations Manager Samantha Clark Events & Member Services Officer Veronika Ilnycky Communications Officer Anna Lau Head of Research Rasheed Davis Accounts Officer STATE BRANCHES ACT Edward Patching NSW Richard McDonald QLD Alison Harrington SA Kevin Parken VIC Don Hyatt WA Barry Nunn EQUITY EDITOR Silvana Eccles act@asa.asn.au nsw@asa.asn.au qld@asa.asn.au sa@asa.asn.au vic@asa.asn.au wa@asa.asn.au equity@asa.asn.au CONTACT DETAILS TELEPHONE 1300 368 448 02 9223 8811 FAX 02 9223 3964 ADDRESS Suite 301, Level 3 90 Pitt Street Sydney NSW 2000 GPO Box 359 Sydney NSW 2001 ABN 40 000 625 669 EMAIL share@asa.asn.au WEBSITE www.asa.asn.au www.australianshareholders.com.au DISCLAIMER This material in EQUITY is provided for information only. No responsibility or any form of contractual, tortious or other liability is accepted for decisions made on the basis of the information contained herein. Nothing in EQUITY is intended or should be interpreted as being investment advice. Investment advice can only be obtained from persons who are licensed in accordance with the Corporations Act. Views expressed in articles in EQUITY do not necessarily reflect ASA policy. The ASA does not endorse or favour any specific commercial product or company. The ASA is often able to negotiate discounts or benefits for ASA members however the inclusion of discounts or advertisements in EQUITY, on the ASA website or within other ASA communications does not constitute an endorsement for the products, services or companies mentioned. COPYRIGHT All material published in Equity is copyright, as are ASA Policy Statements whether published in Equity or not. Reproduction in whole or in part is not permitted without written authority from the Editor. All graphs for the Company Reports derive from www.netquote.com.au. Any correspondence regarding matters covered in this magazine should be addressed to the Editor. Ian Curry CHAIR REPORT December 2014 When members read this edition of Equity most annual general meetings will be over. December, however, is the month where some important meetings are held, including three of the four big banks. These companies are important for shareholders due to their inclusion in virtually every portfolio, the dividends they pay and the role their lending, trading and financing policies affect individual and corporate life. Another interesting issue at these meetings is the demand from some interest groups for banks to stop lending money to companies who are claimed to be damaging the environment through the use of their products or who operate businesses which impact adversely on individuals. In broad terms companies are not, now, judged solely on their financial performance. They are obliged to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Resolutions about ESG are being placed on agenda for annual meetings and concerned individuals are nominating for board positions. Every annual report has to deal with these broader issues together with those of diversity in employment. Reports are provided showing how safety is enforced for employees and customers. How and where a company sources products or inputs and to what extent it influences suppliers and their social and environmental practices is important. Relationships with communities and governments need to be positive. The emissions intensity of businesses needs to be measured and improvements made to their resilience to climate change. None of this can be achieved without the right leadership and communication at all levels of the company. There is a body of literature now which points to or claims that companies which demonstrate a clear understanding of the need to manage all stakeholders can expect to perform better than those which do not. The concentration of annual meetings in October and November can mean that many meetings are not covered by the media. This is where ASA, through its voting intentions and reporting of all meetings attended, provides members with accurate information. We continue to encourage companies to webcast their meetings and where possible provide for shareholder questions by telephone link. ASA has also noticed that proxy adviser firms are taking stronger positions on remuneration and director voting. It can be said they are catching up with many of the principles we have held over the years. Poor financial performance not reflected in reduced executive rewards is being highlighted. Directors who fail to act on this link are seeing substantial votes against their re-election. All shareholders should be grateful to our company monitors and their team leaders and to Anna Lau for her work in making sure voting intentions and reports are available on the website. We continue to urge all shareholders to vote directly or to give ASA their proxy to make sure their vote counts. The listing of Medibank will have taken place by the time you read this column. Whatever the outcome in terms of support for the float it must go on record that it is totally unacceptable to ask investors to pay for a share without knowing the price or the number of shares they might receive. The end of 2014 is close and I want to acknowledge the contribution from all our volunteers. To State chairs and their committees, State CMC chairs and monitors, to all convenors of groups and their committees around Australia, all of us owe them a great deal. To Silvana Eccles and our staff in the National office my thanks for coping with an enormous workload over the year and for their support of the directors. To my fellow directors I say thank you for contributing so well to our work. Finally to all members and their families I wish you a safe and happy Christmas and New Year. EQUITY December 2014 Page 3
Page 1: EQUITY the trusted voice of shareho
Page 5 and 6: INFRASTRUCTURE’S KEY BENEFITS ARE
Page 7 and 8: Portfolio planning for the holidays
Page 9 and 10: FOR A COMPLIMENTARY REPORT AND PORT
Page 11 and 12: BENDIGO BANK AGM MONITOR: REX MCKEN
Page 13 and 14: MONITORS: RICHARD MCDONALD AND JOHN
Page 15 and 16: BRICKBATS BOUQUETS To the New Zeala
Page 17 and 18: INVESTING TIPS: What is CHESS and h
Page 19 and 20: Good buy. Cruel world. Intelligent
Page 21 and 22: MORNINGTON ANNUAL DINNER The Mornin
Page 23 and 24: Location Date Time Venue Speaker To

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