Summer Australian Equities
Summer Australian Equities fund performance summary as at 31 August 2025.
Fund at a glance
Unit price (as at 31 August 2025): $2.1926
Date the fund started: 19 September 2016
For information on fees, see our Fees page.
For more information on the Summer Australian Equities fund, read the latest quarterly fund update and the product disclosure statement.
Fund objective and strategy
See the Australian Equities page for the Summary of investment objective and strategy.
Fund returns
| PIR | Total since inception (annualised) | 1 Month | 3 Month | 1 Year | 3 Years^ |
| 28% | 8.26% | 3.49% | 9.07% | 10.70% | 9.96% |
| 17.50% | 8.63% | 3.46% | 9.01% | 10.97% | 10.42% |
| 10.50% | 8.89% | 3.44% | 8.96% | 11.15% | 10.73% |
^ 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
The top 10 investments make up 41.47% of the fund.
Manager's Commentary
How did your portfolio perform?
The Summer Australian Equities Fund (the fund) delivered a return net of fees and before tax of 3.41% during August. For the 12 months to the end of August, the fund delivered a return net of fees and before tax of 11.41%.
Key positive contributors to performance in August were our overweight positions in mining services company, Emeco Holdings and diagnostic imaging firm, Integral Diagnostics. Emeco Holdings produced another strong result, with the market recalibrating their forecasts for continued earnings growth and higher returns on capital. The shares outperformed as investors gain confidence in the new management team who have restored discipline at the company. After a soft result earlier in the year, Integral Diagnostics saw an uptick in margin and an upgrade to expected synergies from the Capitol Health acquisition.
Key detractors from performance in August were our overweight positions in biotech firm, CSL and packaging manufacturer, Amcor. CSL shares fell in August after releasing a messy full year result with indicating significant restructuring and announcing a de-merger. The market was clearly disappointed by guidance around margin recovery in their Behring division, with management walking back their FY28 target to restore pre-covid margins. Amcor delivered a modest 2% miss to consensus FY25 earnings but noted weak operational details. The exit run rate for earnings in the final quarter and weak core result (ex the recently acquired Berry Global) were enough to drive negative earnings revisions from analysts and a weak share price.
We actively manage the fund’s foreign currency exposures associated with Australian equities. During the month the NZD fell -1.68% against the Australian dollar (AUD).
What happened in the markets that you invest in?
The Australian equity market rose 3.10% in August, led by the Materials and Consumer Discretionary sectors. There was little change in the key macroeconomic data during August. House price inflation accelerated to its highest monthly level since 2022, suggesting rate cuts are already driving higher activity. Unemployment remains low at 4.2%, inflation is slightly above target and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) delivered a 0.25% rate cut, signalling two more cuts over the next six months.
What are we thinking about the future?
Reporting season produced an extreme level of volatility in August, with a large selection of stocks across multiple sectors delivering both positive and negative price reactions of 10% to 30% on results day. The market multiple was already elevated going into August and expanded further through the month as the market rose, whilst earnings expectations were pared back.
Despite relatively full valuations the backdrop for earnings across many of the domestically exposed companies in the ASX200 looks reasonably positive. With rate cuts coming through, rising house prices and real incomes now increasing, we expect to see further earnings improvement for those companies most exposed to Australian households, including the consumer discretionary sector, real estate and banks. The latter are benefiting from higher credit growth and more benign competition whilst in real estate, we are increasingly confident a recovery in asset prices and capital market demand is underway.
This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any financial product and does not take your personal circumstances into account. All opinions reflect our judgement on the date of communication and may change without notice. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance. We recommend you take financial advice before making investment decisions. We have prepared this web page in good faith based on information obtained from other sources, but we do not guarantee the accuracy of that information. We do not make any representation or warranty (express or implied) that this web page is accurate, complete, or current and to the maximum extent permitted by law disclaim any liability for loss which may be incurred by any person relying on this web page.
