It doesn't look like it's going to be a particularly happy Christmas for the Australian economy and likewise there may not be too much to cheer about as we enter 2015…
According to a report by the ABC, one of Australia's leading economists Gerard Minack thinks Australia is "out of luck" and is at serious risk (40% probability) of a recession in 2015.
What's more, Australian stocks are expected to underperform global equities – at least that's the view of one of Australia's leading global fund managers, Paul Moore, who heads up PM Capital. It's a worrying scenario, considering the portfolio positioning of many portfolios. In a recent article published in the Fairfax press, Moore noted that, "self managed super funds (SMSFs) are overly invested in local assets and are missing out on better returns offshore."
Defensive and global may be best
Given the outlook for the domestic economy and Australian equities, the best strategy for your portfolio may be a defensive and global stance in 2015. Here are four stocks which could be worth considering:
- Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC) is a leading private hospital operator in Australia and increasingly overseas too. Currently, Ramsay operates 212 hospitals and day surgery facilities across Australia, France, UK, Indonesia and Malaysia. The healthcare sector which Ramsay operates in provides a reliable and defensive, government-backed stream of earnings while also offering exposure to foreign jurisdictions.
- Brambles Limited (ASX: BXB) offers its pallet, crate and container pooling solutions in over 50 countries. The group is diversified by industry, region and customer and earns the bulk of its profits offshore.
- CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) is a leading provider of vaccines and plasma protein therapies. CSL's sought after products have a global customer base and are critical medicines that make them non-discretionary, with exposure to global growth in healthcare expenditure.
- Amcor Limited (ASX: AMC) has operations in 43 countries and provides essential packaging solutions to a broad range of sectors including the food, beverage, healthcare and tobacco industries. Amcor's wide diversity of customers creates a defensive revenue stream, while its global operations provide significant offshore exposure for Australian shareholders.
