Following the recent closure of Silicon Valley Bank and other regional banks across the US, Prime wishes to provide you with a high-level update on what is currently known about the situation. BACKGROUND On Friday morning Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which grew rapidly in size during the recent tech boom and had been the 16th largest US bank and a successful S&P 500 company, but by Saturday morning, it was bankrupt after a sudden run on its deposit base had rendered it unviable. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) invested much of its depositor capital into long-dated US government bonds and mortgage ..read more

Monthly Commentary by Blackmore Capital (Australian Equities Consultant) Australian Equities The ASX 200 fell 2.5% in February on the expectation that global central banks will need to further raise interest rates to control inflation. At a sector level, the combination of a stronger US Dollar and rising real bond yields was a major headwind for mining stocks which fell 7.5% for the month. By contrast, the strongest performing industry group was Insurance +6.5%, where rising bond yields supported higher investment income returns. At a portfolio level, Brambles and Woolworths were the notable s ..read more

We recently welcomed Erryn Lloyd-Jones as Partner – Capital and Corporate Advisory and Tony Perkins to the Prime team within our Capital division. To date, Prime, through the Capital team, has had great capabilities in mergers and acquisition and equity capital markets. Equity funding is one side of the story for companies. Debt is the other. Debt is crucial to the effective working of business, households and the economy more broadly. With Erryn Lloyd-Jones and Tony Perkins joining the Capital team, Prime now has the full service capability across both equity and debt capital markets to fully ..read more

The momentum of combined Purpose Natalie Simmons, Managing Director ESG, Purpose & Sustainability If you haven’t heard of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) here’s a short explainer: The Sustainable Development Goals are a call to action with three overarching aims: fight for equality and justice, end extreme poverty, and tackle climate change. The UN SDGs are a universal call to action to ensure peace and prosperity for all people by 2030. There are 17 of them, each with a noble goal to be reached. Each goal has specific targets and indicators to measure progress and to guid ..read more

R&D tax incentive applications for the tax year ended 30 June 2022 are due for lodgement with AusIndustry by 30 April 2023. This is a use it or lose it deadline. For companies that still havn’t lodged their annual claim this should be viewed as a priority in order to unlock valuable non-dilutive funding into their business. Prime are happy to talk to any clients that may not have claimed in the past and require an eligibility assessment. Export Market Development Grant (EMDG) Round 3 applications open from 9am AEDT, Wednesday 15 March 2023. Close 4pm AEST, Friday 14 April 20 ..read more

Monthly Commentary by Blackmore Capital (Australian Equities Consultant) Australian Equities Global equity markets had a strong start to the year, with the ASX 200 rallying 6.23% in January, its best start in over 3 decades. The strength in the ASX 200 was broad-based with all sectors (except Utilities) contributing to a positive performance. The cyclical sectors of Consumer Discretionary, Materials and Real Estate led the ASX 200 higher.  At a portfolio level, BHP, Macquarie Group, and Northern Star were notable strong performing stocks. Whereas the defensive stocks of Spark NZ, Amcor, a ..read more

Michelle Bromley CFP®, Director – Strategy and Advice Given the recent history of rising residential property values in Australia, interest in buying a property inside superannuation is also rising.   One of the benefits of a Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) is control over investment decisions, including the ability to own real estate.   While an SMSF can hold up to 100% of its capital in real estate, the prudent investor would maintain a significant cash buffer to guard against vacancy or rising costs and ensure that the SMSF had at minimum 15%-20% of available cap ..read more

Prime acquired Barefoot to increase the advisory services available to clients and include Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG). Prime is an advice & capital firm that brings together Accounting & Business Advisory, Wealth Management, Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSF) and Capital & Corporate Advisory services. The company is well-known for its expert advice and personalized service for businesses, family groups and investors. Barefoot Citizens Consulting specializes in sustainable business practices and socially responsible investing. Offering solutions that enable their clie ..read more

Monthly Commentary by Blackmore Capital (Australian Equities Consultant) Australian Equities The ASX 200 fell -3.21% in December, as central banks remained determined to further tighten financial conditions by pushing official interest rates higher. Indeed, the path of higher interest rates has had a deleterious impact on equity valuations throughout 2022 and was common theme for global equity markets over the year. The combined impact of persistently high inflation and the rise in bond yields provided a major headwind for PE ratios and the decline was most prominently felt in the cyclical and ..read more

Monthly Commentary by Blackmore Capital (Australian Equities Consultant) Australian Equities The ASX 200 rose +6.6% in November, extending its rally to ~+14% from its market low in October. Strong gains were led by Utilities (a takeover offer for Origin Energy) and the Mining sector that benefited from renewed optimism of a China re-opening. Overall, equity markets were supported by better- than- expected inflation data suggesting that central banks could slow the pace of interest rate rises. During November we engaged with several companies in the portfolio. Recent discussions with companies ..read more