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And right now, he’s worried about the short-term economic implications of ongoing Covid-induced lockdowns in the nation’s biggest capital cities and more importantly, the medium-term consequences of Australia closing its borders to the world.
“My view is they should treat it like any other flu and get on with it. You walk around America and England and they have decided to just forge ahead and it seems to be working,’’ Paradice tells The Weekend Australian.
“The vaccination rollout has been pretty bad in Australia, whereas overseas it has been pretty good, which has allowed them to open up.”
Paradice, whose boutique investment firm Paradice Investment Management (PIM) manages about $17bn on behalf of its super and investment fund clients, fears there could be dire consequences for wage inflation and crucial skills shortages flowing from the federal government’s closed border policy.
“Having borders shut, I don’t know if I agree with that. I know a lot of technology companies who are trying to get people to work for them and they can’t get them in. So wage inflation is going through the roof in that sector. If they are not careful, it is going to have massive implications for wage inflation and the workforce, stopping smart migrants coming in to bolster our economy. It could affect our industries if they don’t open the borders. They need to do it sooner rather than later.”
Paradice, who made his name over the past three decades as one of Australia’s most successful small-cap investors, splits his time between PIM’s offices in Denver and Sydney.
“I love being in Australia and it is going to remain my place of residence. But it helps broaden the mind going offshore and doing things offshore. I pick up a lot of trends from overseas,’’ he says.
“There are a lot of bloody good investors overseas and I always try to find the best investors I can to support my business.”
Paradice’s passion for his homeland has long extended to philanthropy. Over the years the triple cancer survivor has supported the likes of the Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Foundation, the Sydney Theatre Company, the Mirabel Foundation, the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the Australian Museum Trust.
In 2017 Paradice was awarded an Order...