Summer Australian Equities
Summary of investment objective and strategy
To achieve long-term returns (before fees, taxes and other expenses) greater than the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index, 50% hedged to the New Zealand dollar.
These investments typically have very high levels of movement up and down in value.
Strategic investment mix
| Category | % |
|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | 5.00% |
| New Zealand fixed interest | 0.00% |
| International fixed interest | 0.00% |
| Total income assets | 5% |
| Australasian equities | 85.00% |
| Listed property | 10.00% |
| International equities | 0.00% |
| Total growth assets | 95% |
| Total portfolio | 100% |
Risk indicator
The risk indicator is rated from 1 (low) to 7 (high). The rating reflects how much the value of the fund’s assets goes up and down (volatility). A higher risk generally means higher potential returns over time, but more ups and downs along the way.
* The composite benchmark for each multi-asset class fund is made up of the single asset class benchmarks weighted by the target asset allocation for the asset class.
Minimum suggested investment timeframe
At least five years
Fund at a glance
Unit price (as at 28 February 2026): $2.3095
Date the fund started: 18 October 2019
Fund returns
| PIR | Total since inception^ | 1 Month | 3 Month | 1 Year | 3 Years^ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28% | 8.50% | 3.78% | 6.72% | 15.75% | 11.06% |
^ Annualised
Fund returns are calculated net of fund charges, trading expenses and accrued tax for a New Zealand resident individual paying tax at the Prescribed Investor Rate identified above.
Top 10 investments
| # | Asset name | % of fund net assets |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BHP Group Limited | 10.55% |
| 2 | Commonwealth Bank of Australia Limited | 6.84% |
| 3 | Westpac Banking Corporation | 4.74% |
| 4 | Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited | 4.03% |
| 5 | National Australia Bank Limited | 3.62% |
| 6 | CSL Limited | 3.36% |
| 7 | Rio Tinto Limited | 2.65% |
| 8 | Macquarie Group Limited | 2.55% |
| 9 | Goodman Group | 2.28% |
| 10 | Telstra Group | 2.15% |
| Top 10 investments total | 42.77% | |
Manager's Commentary
How did your portfolio perform?
The Summer Australian Equities Fund (the fund) delivered a return after fees and before tax of 3.41% during February. For the 12 months to the end of February, the fund delivered a return after fees and before tax of 15.51%.
Key positive contributors to performance in February were our underweight position in hearing implant maker, Cochlear and our overweight position in non-bank lender, Resimac group. Cochlear fell ~19% after posting its fourth consecutive earnings miss at the February result. Management also downgraded full year FY26 guidance. In our view, the company’s increasingly unpredictable earnings growth does not support its rich valuation multiple. Our overweight position in Resimac performed well after the company rallied strongly at its half year result in February, posting earnings above market expectations. Pleasingly, Resimac announced another special dividend of 9cps at the result, bringing total dividends to 32cps over 12 months, a compelling 44% yield on the share price a year ago.
Key detractors from performance in February were our underweight position in Commonwealth Bank (CBA), and our overweight position in travel agency, Flight Centre. CBA printed a strong result that was ahead of market expectations. Lending growth was robust, margins were resilient and credit quality remained in good shape. Flight Centre sold off sharply after sector peer, Webjet, disclosed Spanish tax authorities were auditing its Spanish subsidiary. This, along with a risk-off theme in markets, saw Flight Centre sell off 10% that same day in sympathy.
We actively manage the fund’s foreign currency exposures associated with Australian equities. During the month the NZD fell -2.48% against the Australian dollar (AUD).
What happened in the markets that you invest in?
The Australian equity market rose 4.11% in February, led higher by strong performances in the Materials and Financial sectors with both up more than 9% during the month. The tone of economic data during February remained firm, with the monthly CPI running at 3.8% YoY and unemployment flat at 4.1%. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) finally took signal from the persistently high inflation numbers and raised the cash rate target 0.25% to 3.85%.
What are we thinking about the future?
Recent commentary from the RBA suggests they are becoming uncomfortable with persistently high inflation. Upcoming meetings appear now to be ‘live’ with largely one-sided risk of further interest rate increases. Underlying economic momentum, persistent inflation and potential interest rate hikes have driven the AUD sharply higher, rising to 13-year highs against the NZD. This AUD strength was also a meaningful drag on performance during the month given our above benchmark hedge position.
The February reporting season highlighted this positive economic backdrop with earnings upgrades for the year to 30 June 2026 of nearly ~2% flowing through over recent weeks. Higher nominal GDP growth remains positive for the banking sector, and we continue to selectively add to our banking exposure. We also see opportunities in the technology sector where investor concerns around AI business model disruption has driven a sharp multiple de-rating.