Charlie Aitken

Charlie Aitken

Switzer Expert

Read Charlie's Profile

Charlie Aitken is the Managing Director of Bell Potter Wholesale.

Charlie started his financial markets career in 1993 on the floor of the Sydney Futures Exchange dealing SPI futures for clients of Ord Minnett/Jardine Fleming.

One of his clients was investment bank County Natwest, who in 1996 asked Charlie to join their Institutional Equities Dealing Desk in Sydney. Charlie worked with County Natwest and its future owners Salomon Smith Barney and Citigroup until joining Southern Cross Equities in 2003. When Bell Potter took over Southern Cross Equities in 2008, Charlie remained in his role as Head of Institutional Dealing until June 30, 2011.

His influential daily stock market newsletter ‘Ringing the Bell,’ formerly called ‘Under the Southern Cross ,’ is widely followed by institutional and private investors alike.

Over his 18 years working in financial markets, Charlie has experienced both bull and bear markets, including the Asian crash, the tech bubble and bust, 9/11, the resources boom, and the global financial crisis. He has met with hundreds of companies and investors all around the world. He has worked in both large and small firms, but has always been focused on the core business of finding undervalued stocks and investing with conviction.

Latest Commentary

Stock buys for the new financial year

by Charlie Aitken

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The 2012 financial year was a complete annus horribilis in terms of the Australian equity market, a year that is best forgotten. Let’s all hope FY2013 is brighter.

I have been thinking recently that we have reached the point where anyone who doesn’t want to own equities has already sold and moved on. Private investors have dumped equities in favour of the 'safety' of bonds (at all time high prices), pension funds have allocated in favour of fixed interest over equities, hedge funds are short equities and long fixed interest and central banks are massively long fixed interest and have no equity holdings.

Bond yields have bottomed

All roads have led to bonds and that is why they remain the mother of all bubbles, with yields artificially held down by the coordinated actions of central banks. Those still holding equities claim to be 'defensively' positioned, parked in the perceived safety of defensives (at record high premiums to cyclicals).

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