Performance
The 2026 history: sleeve returns month by month, fund-level returns where published, and the year against a passive blend. Valued to 30 October 2026.
- Year to date (invested)
- +0.7%
- chained from the monthly rows
- Best month
- Apr +3.6%
- $30k
- Worst month
- Mar −6.7%
- −$61k
- Down months
- 3 of 10
Monthly returns by sleeve
Total return, %, net of fees. January–June are proxied from fund and benchmark series (hatched); July is fund level where published and index elsewhere; *September is to the 25th; †October runs from 25 September to 30 October.
| Series | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep* | Oct† | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian equities | −0.1% | −0.3% | −10.2% | +2.6% | +0.3% | +0.6% | +0.7% | +5.5% | −2.2% | −4.8% | −8.4% |
| Global equities | +1.9% | +0.4% | −6.1% | +4.4% | +2.9% | +3.4% | −0.5% | +1.1% | −0.8% | −0.3% | +6.2% |
| Property & infrastructure | +2.4% | +2.5% | −1.3% | +3.5% | +0.4% | +0.7% | +0.8% | −2.8% | −4.2% | +4.2% | +6.1% |
| Alternatives | −1.5% | −0.3% | −5.4% | +2.6% | +1.2% | +0.4% | +1.2% | +0.7% | −2.1% | +0.7% | −2.7% |
| Invested portfolio, net | +1.0% | +0.4% | −6.7% | +3.6% | +1.6% | +1.9% | +0.2% | +1.8% | −1.8% | −1.0% | +0.7% |
| Cumulative YTD | +1.0% | +1.4% | −5.4% | −2.0% | −0.4% | +1.5% | +1.7% | +3.5% | +1.6% | +0.7% | |
| $ change, invested | $9k | $3k | −$61k | $30k | $14k | $17k | $2k | $16k | −$17k | −$9k | $6k |
Dollar-change method: each sleeve's month-end value is back-chained from its latest mark through the return row (start = end ÷ (1 + r)); portfolio net % = total $ change ÷ start-of-month invested total. The brief's cumulative row reads +1.7 at September; chaining the rounded monthly figures gives +1.6.
Fund-level monthly returns
Where the manager has published. Starred cells are index/beta estimates; October figures are on the published prices researched on 31 October.
| Fund | Sleeve | Jul | Aug | Sep* | Oct† | Jul–Oct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Sentier | Australian equities | +2.0% | +3.0% | −5.5% | +2.4% | +1.7% |
| Macquarie Small Cos | Australian equities | −1.9% | +6.1% | −2.0% | −6.1% | −4.2% |
| MQAE | Australian equities | +2.0% | +1.4% | −3.3% | +2.0% | +2.0% |
| Perennial | Australian equities | −5.8% | +11.8% | +2.0% | −21.5% | −15.7% |
| Spheria | Australian equities | 0.0% | +9.8% | −0.5% | −1.7% | +7.4% |
| Lazard Infra | Property & infrastructure | −0.8% | −2.0% | −3.0% | +6.9% | +0.8% |
| Quay | Property & infrastructure | +2.4% | −3.7% | −5.4% | +1.5% | −5.3% |
| Barwon | Alternatives | −3.5% | +0.5% | −3.0% | −0.8% | −6.7% |
| Talaria | Alternatives | +5.5% | +1.0% | −1.0% | +4.1% | +9.8% |
| Ashmore EM | Global equities | – | +1.3% | 0.0% | −6.6% | −5.4% |
| Langdon | Global equities | +4.8% | +0.5% | −6.6% | +4.6% | +2.9% |
| MFS Contrarian | Global equities | – | +0.6% | −1.0% | +1.4% | +1.0% |
| Plato | Global equities | −2.1% | +1.0% | +2.4% | −0.9% | +0.3% |
| VGAD | Global equities | +0.3% | +2.3% | +0.5% | −1.5% | +1.6% |
July is June for Perennial, Barwon and Talaria (their latest published month at the time). MQAE and Talaria October figures are total returns including the distributions paid in early October and at the end of September.
Benchmark comparison
Year to date, invested portfolio against a 50/50 ASX 200 + hedged global index blend.
Portfolio YTD
+0.7%
Blend YTD
+7.2%
The blend is held at the September report's +6.7% and rolled forward with October's ASX 200 (+1.35%) and hedged MSCI World ex-Australia (−0.43%) halves; monthly blend points before September were not published. With a 1.0 per cent management fee applied to the structured portfolio the net gap is ≈ $57.5k per $1m year to date (+0.95 vs +6.7 per cent to September).
Fund minus benchmark, one year
Points of annual total return against each fund's benchmark at the September report (MFS omitted: no published trailing return).
- Perennial+43.0 pts
- Plato+7.0 pts
- Ashmore EM+3.9 pts
- VGAD−0.1 pts
- MQAE−0.3 pts
- Macquarie Small Cos−0.9 pts
- Lazard Infra−2.4 pts
- Talaria−4.3 pts
- Quay−8.0 pts
- Spheria−8.5 pts
- Barwon−18.9 pts
- First Sentier−20.2 pts
- Langdon−27.8 pts
The 2026 story
The year divides into five regimes.
- Sep 2025 – Feb 2026. Steady rally; ASX 200 record 9,203 on 2 March. Hedged global equities did far better than unhedged as the AUD strengthened.
- March 2026. Oil shock (Strait of Hormuz) plus RBA hikes (Feb/Mar/May, 3.60 → 4.35 per cent); ASX −7.5 per cent in the month, worst since June 2022; MQAE NAV −9.7 per cent peak to trough; Spheria −12.6 per cent in March; Langdon about −15 per cent in the quarter.
- Apr – Aug 2026. Recovery and breakout; gold near US$4,307/oz took Small Ords materials +18.5 per cent in August — Spheria +9.8, Perennial ~+11.8, Macquarie Small +6.1; every Australian active manager beat its benchmark that month.
- September 2026. The rates month — Fed +25bp on 16 Sep to 3.75–4.00 per cent, US 10-year 5.04 per cent intraday; ASX fell four straight weeks to 8,665; AUD firmed to ~71.2 US cents with a fourth RBA hike priced, so the unhedged sleeve gave no cushion.
- October 2026. The AI-capex scare and an oil shock — Nasdaq −5.3 per cent, semis −15 per cent, EM −8 per cent, Brent above US$114 — while the ASX 200 rose 1.35 per cent on a rotation into utilities, banks and health care; Small Ordinaries about −6.5 per cent and gold −6 per cent to a 12-month low. Perennial −16 per cent; Lazard and Langdon led.
Analysis and modelling for discussion, not personal financial advice.