ARTICLES

In today’s complex market environment, the choice of investment approach is more than just a portfolio decision - it’s a business-defining one. For financial planning firms and dealer groups, the investment philosophy they choose to work with can either strengthen their client relationships or quietly undermine them.

Advisers know that the risks of following an outdated investment approach, or one that may not work well in these times, extends well beyond poor portfolio performance. They can ripple into client trust, business reputation, compliance risk, and long-term commercial sustainability.

For decades, Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) has been the cornerstone of portfolio construction. From super funds to retail advice practices, it became the “default setting” — the framework advisers trusted to manage client capital through all market conditions.

Better Portfolio solutions than the old 60/40

Matthew Walker | September 2025

For much of the past four decades, Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) has formed the foundation of portfolio construction. The principle is simple: establish a long-term mix of equities, bonds, and alternatives based on risk tolerance, rebalance periodically, and maintain discipline. In a world of globalisation, falling inflation, and declining interest rates, that framework worked exceptionally well.

For decades, retail investors have been handed the same investment framework: static strategic asset allocation, risk profiles labelled “conservative,” “balanced,” or “growth,” and the assumption that history always repeats. That framework worked in the disinflationary decades of falling rates and globalisation — but today it looks fragile.

Inflation is sticky. Growth is slowing. Debt is piling up. Geopolitical tensions and currency debasement are front-page news. Investors can no longer afford to rely on old rules of thumb.

That’s why we built Dynamic Asset — to change the playbook.

Investors today are navigating one of the most complex market backdrops in decades — inflation risks, geopolitical tensions, shifting central bank policy, and a world in transition from fossil fuels to new technologies.

Against this environment, our Wealth Builder and Wealth Protector portfolios have delivered exceptional results over the past 12 months. 

In today's fast-paced, technology-driven world, the adage 'if you're not moving forward, you're moving backward' holds particular significance, especially in the financial sector. For Australian financial advisers, remaining static in the face of evolving challenges and opportunities is not just a risk – it's potentially a path to obsolescence.

Financial advisers come in many shapes and sizes with various approaches and value propositions to suit their clients and business goals. Yet, all share typical dynamics. Beyond the need to be profitable enough to survive, they need to:

1. Manage business risk and compliance
2. Manage client capacity and cost to serve

Client satisfaction with business and lifestyle flexibility

In today's economic and financial landscape, navigating risk has become increasingly challenging due to many factors impacting the global economy and financial markets. The complexities are extensive and quite unlike anything experienced in decades, if ever before. The issues are contributing to the uncertainty and inconsistent market behaviour: