First Sentier Concentrated Australian Share

PIM0760AU · Australian equities · First Sentier Investors · AUD assets · benchmark S&P/ASX 300 · fee: Performance fee

Reconsider

Role: Concentrated Australian growth tilt — 30 stocks, beta 1.1 to 1.3, tracking error 7.4 per cent.

Market value
$49,194
41,431.64 units × 1.1874
Weight
5.0%
of the total, cash included
Latest month
+$1k · 30 October 2026
Year to date
−5.9%
fund level since July, sleeve proxy before
vs cost
−4.6%
−$2,351 on $51,545
Hit rate
3 of 4
fund-level months up

Growth of the position this year

Rebased to 100 at the start of January. Fund-level returns from July (June for Perennial, Barwon and Talaria); the sleeve's return stands in before that and is shaded in the strip below. End-of-month drawdown from the year's peak alongside.

Index, 31 December 2025 = 100 (blue); end-of-month drawdown from the year's peak (red, %). Intra-month drawdowns need daily prices and are shown on the Technicals page for the daily-priced funds.

MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOct
Return−0.1%−0.3%−10.2%+2.6%+0.3%+0.6%+2.0%+3.0%−5.5%+2.4%
$ change−$0k−$0k−$5k+$1k+$0k+$0k+$1k+$1k−$3k+$1k

Hatched cells are proxied (sleeve) or estimated (index/beta) months. Best fund-level month Aug +3.0%; worst Sep −5.5%; last three months −0.3%. With ten monthly observations, volatility and capture ratios are not yet meaningful and are not shown.

Twelve-month look-back

Total return net of fees as published by the manager at the September report; benchmark to 31 July 2026 unless the manager quotes its own.

1 month
+2.0%
3 months
+4.9%
1 year (fund)
−14.3%
1 year (ASX 300)
+5.8%
Fund − benchmark
−20.2 pts
Data to
31 Jul

Updated to 31 August: fund −11.75% v benchmark +4.25%; the gap moved −20.2 → −16.0 points.

Scenario exposure

The twelve-month shock assumed for this fund under each scenario, and what it costs on today's value.

ScenarioShock$ impact
A: AI bust−22%−$11k
B: USD decline+2%+$1k
B2: USD spike−9%−$4k
C: Downturn−24%−$12k

Basis: IT and health-care overweights, beta 1.1 to 1.3

Strengths, weaknesses and concerns

From the September 2026 analysis (sections 8 and 9), updated for the October marks.

Strengths

  • +3.0 per cent in August against +1.62 for the ASX 300 — a second consecutive month ahead
  • The one-year gap narrowed from −20 to −16 points by August as the style turned

Weaknesses

  • Below benchmark over one year (−14.3 v +5.8), three years (4.2 v 10.3 pa) and since the August 2022 inception (5.9 v 10.2 pa)
  • Active weights tilt to health care (+9.4) and IT (+8.5) and away from materials, industrials and energy — every bet cost money in a resources-and-value year
  • Duplicates growth exposure held through VGAD and Plato while cancelling the resources tilt held deliberately through Perennial and MQAE

Concerns

  • The manager's outlook is a rotation back to quality growth: a style bet, not evidence of stock-picking alpha
  • Scenario A −22 per cent and C −24 per cent — among the most exposed Australian positions

What to watch

  • Monthly return against the ASX 300 — does the August/September pattern hold?
  • CSL, WiseTech and ResMed positioning
  • The whole-of-life record, not the latest month

Verdict: Reconsider — the strongest case. Reducing to zero lifts the Australian sleeve's benchmark-relative return without losing diversification, since MQAE already provides the core.

October: +2.4 per cent on InvestSMART's 29 October exit price, with health care +9 per cent in the month; the figure needs checking against First Sentier's own page.

Marks

Every valuation held for this fund, with its source.

As ofUnit pricePublished priceValueSourceNote
31 August 20261.22701.2270$50,837published31 August 2026 custodian statement
25 September 20261.1595–$48,041estimateASX 300 beta estimate, −5.5%
30 October 20261.18741.1875$49,194publishedInvestSMART exit 1.1875 (29 Oct) v 31 Aug statement 1.2270, Sep estimate removed — verify with First Sentier

Analysis and modelling for discussion, not personal financial advice.