Investor Insights

  For many years I’ve advocated investment in equities. That won’t change. I believe owning quality growing businesses is the surest way to long-term wealth creation. A quick glance at the ‘rich lists’ of the wealthiest people in Australia, for example, reveals a list of business owners.

  In this period of heightened volatility, above-target inflation, and rising interest rates, you need investments that aim to protect your capital as well as grow it. Quality private credit is one way of achieving this. And unlike equities, the cash rate, or other asset classes, you’re not wed to the economic cycle.

  In this week’s video insight David Buckland introduces two companies in the Polen Capital Small and Mid Cap Fund: Endava and Globant. Endava is a British software development and consulting firm experiencing steady revenue growth and global expansion. Globant is a global IT company focusing on AI and software development.

Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX:TLX) is a Melbourne-headquartered $3. 9 billion company which recently entered the Montgomery and Australian Eagle portfolios and seems to have very exciting prospects. To backtrack, Telix’s targeted radiation imaging and therapy technologies have potential to transform the way clinicians can find and manage cancer to inform treatment decisions and deliver personalised therapy.

The period from late 2021 into much of 2022 saw strong rising official cash rates and widespread worries about an upcoming recession, equities mostly surprised by delivering strong performance in the financial year of 2023. Investors demonstrated remarkable resilience and adaptability as they actively pursued opportunities in the market.

  In this week’s video insight David Buckland discusses two Australian biomedical companies, Pro-Medicus (ASX:PME) and Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX) which are gaining global recognition. Pro-Medicus specialises in imaging software and has experienced significant growth, while Telix focuses on cancer management technologies with promising market potential. Both companies are poised for further success and expansion.

Most people associate Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) with some of Australia’s best known retail names such as Bunnings, Kmart and Officeworks. While this is where the bulk of the earnings are generated now, the role of Wesfarmers in everyday Australians’ lives actually runs deeper than it would appear on the surface with a growing healthcare and resources exposure.

Fears of recession, a market correction and runaway inflation have caused small-cap stocks to materially underperform their large-cap cousins. Those same fears have led many investors asking how wise it is to invest in a small-cap fund now. But investors should remember the stock market is the only market where consumers zip up their wallets when prices are low.

For long term investors and followers of our Small Companies Fund (the Fund) you would be aware that one of the themes we have spoken about since the inception of the Fund is Cloud Computing. In recent weeks we have seen the market becoming quite excited about the prospect of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its related industries.

Recently, Zenith Investment Partner published their fund report for the Australian Eagle Trust Long Short Fund (The Fund), reiterating their RECOMMENDED rating. With their updated rating for 2023 investors might be interested in The Fund’s features and benefits, commencing with its historical performance (Figure 1). Figure 1.

The minutes from the June Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meeting published last week revealed a more hotly contested meeting than the market anticipated, with the decision closely split between a hold or a 25 basis point hike.  ​The threat of further inflation outweighing the option to hold.

With all the talk of recession, we’ve been exploring its probability. As investors, it’s vital to understand which sectors and individual companies are most and least impacted. And helping in that task is appreciating the consumer’s important canary-in-the-coal-mine role.