Asset consultant JANA Investment Advisers (JANA) has advised clients to take a longer-term perspective on investments.

JANA head of consulting John Coombe expressed concerns that investors had become too focused on the short term.

"The whole issue is that everything is measured to within an inch of its life. You have Jeff Bresnahan (from SuperRatings) doing monthly reports on super funds as well as other asset classes and its hugely unhealthy," Coombe said.

Coombe said there are opportunities accross asset classes if viewed as a long-term investment.

"We are slowly moving back into Australian and international equities. We believe that it's good a time to buy for the long-term when the markets are cheap," JANA  said at the Fidelity Australian Equities summit yesterday.

"We're also looking at some of the credit market portfolios for those clients who are willing to lock up for periods of time. We're actually buying some of the really leveraged 'rubbish' out there," Coombe said.

He said these portfolios are marked down so much that even a small upward swing could double investors' money.

Fidelity International head of Australian equities Paul Taylor agreed and said there were good businesses available trading at cheap prices.

"Make sure you look at the strength of the balance sheet and the quality of the management. These are good long-term investments and are in a position to maintain and improve," Taylor said.

MLC chief investment officer Chris Condon agreed and said the current challenge was to engage with clients and get them to set longer-term investment goals.