SUMMARY
The Fund had an exceptionally strong finish to the financial year generating a return of 4.0% for June. By way of comparison the ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation index was almost flat with 0.4% and the RBA cash rate 6% benchmark recorded 0.9%. This return is particularly pleasing given our large cash position of 13.5% as we continued to shy away from the fully priced banking and resources sectors.
The focus on “Defensive business models under pinned by healthy cashflows” paid off handsomely with the market’s obsession with momentum led trading taking a back seat. Aristocrat, Ramsay Healthcare, Amcor, Credit Corp and James Hardie drove the Fund’s performance. Pleasingly the Fund had a long tail of positive contributors.







COMMENTARY
The global themes of June were: a) optimism regarding the Straits of Hormuz re-opening (admittedly a distant memory now), b) a resurgent US$ and c) increased uncertainty around returns for the AI capex story. Meta’s decision to halt matching the AI investment of peers (highlighted by its intention to offer surplus processing capacity in the market) provided a reality check on the potential returns from the massive capex spends.
With regards to our resource/materials exposure, our holdings in BHP and Evolution Mining saw some profit-taking, particularly after delivering our largest financial-year gains.
The Fund did benefit from other big wins in the materials sector, with James Hardie, Amcor, Bluescope and Orica all delivering healthy positive returns. Healthcare was the strongest-performing sector in Australia, with Ramsay Healthcare as the most significant moneymaker. The Fund’s exposure to this sector has in the past been consistently positive. However, both CSL and Resmed were our largest detractors for the current financial year.
During the month, we initiated a new position in glove maker Ansell. The business has proven more resilient to both tariffs and sharply higher input costs than feared. Its robust balance sheet, attractive after cash earnings yield, exposure to industrial activity in the USA and a share buyback all combine to provide an attractive holding. We lightened several holdings to build cash for year-end distributions, including Metcash, ahead of its results, given the continuing tough environment for hardware and liquor sales.
The Fund closed the 2026 financial year up 3.7%, behind the ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation Index (+5.7%) and our cash +6% objective of 9.8%. The full year wins came from commodities names BHP, Evolution, Bluescope and Ampol, as well as the hard assets and low obsolescence of Ramsay Healthcare and Telstra.
We don’t pretend that these are easy markets to navigate, but we are excited by the opportunities this volatility is throwing up. Our focus on what cash flow we can generate from a dollar is the perfect lens for this current business cycle, as growth increasingly comes with capital investment and interest rates have normalised. For us, the opportunities will continue to be found in high-quality businesses led by proven management teams and supported by resilient cash flows that can flourish regardless of the thematics.