Please access the video via the link below, featuring Andrew Mouchacca, one of the Portfolio Managers of the Flinders Emerging Companies Fund:
Some of the things we talk about in our meetings with clients and the correspondence we send out, are that we remain comfortable and confident with the investments held in our portfolios. Just as we saw towards the end of 2021, during times of ‘excess’ where there is an overwhelming sense of positivity and often ‘greed’, all boats rise with the tide. This is when we see even poor quality and speculative investments increasing in value. On the flip side, the opposite is true, during times of ‘negativity’ and ‘fear’, all investments feel this impact, even the high-quality ones, where fundamentals haven’t changed.
In the Australian share market, we have seen investors selling smaller companies, resulting in share prices dropping. This has been felt by the Flinders Emerging Companies Fund which is held across a number of the Financial Keys model portfolios. However, this Fund continues to hold good quality stocks with potential for long term positive performance.
To provide an insight into this Fund Manager, how they are viewing the current state of play and the types of companies they are investing into, we requested a video update from the Manager.
Global markets delivered mixed but generally resilient outcomes over the December quarter, as investors navigated shifting expectations for interest rates, valuation pressures and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. Early volatility gave way to steadier conditions toward year end, supported by the US Federal Reserve’s December rate cut and continued confidence in corporate earnings. Artificial intelligence remained a key structural theme, while strength in defensive sectors, commodities, and gold helped balance a more selective risk appetite.
2025 unfolded against a backdrop of heightened geopolitical tensions, shifting central bank policy, and uneven global growth. Markets began the year cautiously, with Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency renewing tariff uncertainty and contributing to early volatility as investors assessed potential impacts on trade, inflation and corporate earnings. Confidence gradually improved as inflation moderated across major economies and expectations for steadier policy settings emerged. A powerful theme in markets was the accelerated investment in artificial intelligence, which became a central driver of global market leadership as the year progressed.
Global markets surged in the September quarter of 2025 driven by optimism around monetary easing and A.I. innovation alleviating earlier concerns over tariffs and slowing growth. Global equities powered higher on a wave of strong earnings, a long-anticipated US rate cut, and continued enthusiasm for A.I. Commodity and credit markets also strengthened, while volatility briefly flared around policy uncertainty and fiscal stress, particularly in Europe, amid a looming US government shutdown.