Investing in the future

By Rhonda Dredge Home schooling is a creative endeavour requiring plenty of props for sports training and a casual approach by parents even when they’re on their laptops. Campbell Walker has three kids at home, and he is often seen with his daughter, hitting a tennis ball against a nearby brick wall. The Southbank investment adviser is also running the business from his Richmond cottage. While the recent winds have created brutal conditions for ball sports, a conservative investment strategy has given Campbell the mental space to be able to handle them. His Morgans branch earlier in the year won the Branch Performance award – due to increasing its asset base and overall portfolio performance during the past two years. The portfolio of underlying investments he has chosen for his clients has weathered the storm of the COVID-19 crisis, not only coping with the economic downturn but increasing in value. The portfolio is now worth more than it was in mid-January, while the Australian ASX200 index has fallen 15 per cent. Campbell puts the success down to his researched strategy which he developed after the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) when he was working at Macquarie Bank. He and three bank colleagues were invited by Morgans to open up the Southbank Branch on Riverside Quay in 2015. Each of the advisers has built up a solid client base and generally follow similar strategies of investing in the leading one or two stocks in several key sectors, depending on each individual client’s personal circumstances and preferences. Three areas that have been successful during the crisis have been technology, health care and the exposure to the rising Asian / Chinese middle-class. “The Chinese middle-class is expected to increase in population from 350 million to 700 million by 2023,” Campbell said. “They [the Chinese] are now buying their own products rather than US products,” he said, “because of what Trump is doing, they are seeing a recovery quickly.” The technology stocks include global payments such as Zip and Afterpay, data and cloud stocks, and basically anything about going online. “This [COVID-19 crisis] makes my job very interesting. This is a stock-pickers’ market, more than any time in my life.” Most of his investors have self-managed super funds and that has meant selecting stocks that maintain or increase their dividends such as BHP which has done well during the pandemic, due to rising iron ore prices. “I don’t like stocks where external factors like a recession can affect performance.” He cites hotels and travel. “But is it worth getting some if a vaccine comes?” “The stock market looks nine months in advance. It was smashed in March, but the market has since been rallying, looking forward to a vaccine. When we had deaths in Italy and New York it was close to the bottom of the market.” Campbell is not after a quick gain but a safe portfolio. “We’ve had good returns, compared to the market and we aim to get the best possible outcome, depending on the individual’s risk profile.” He misses going into the office, the social interaction with the team, going out to lunch and talking about ideas. It’s only a 12-minute ride along the river from his home. “I love it in Southbank but it’s as a dead as a doornail at the moment. We’re applying for a grant from the City of Melbourne to help bring people back. We’ll get clients in for meetings and take them out to lunch.” • For more visit: morgans.com.au/southbank  General Advice warning: this article is General advice only and doesn’t consider any individuals personal circumstances.