Australian small cap resource stocks are often viewed as more speculative relative to their industrial counterparts. While historical returns generated by Australian small resources have been more volatile, periods of ‘super-normal’ returns have been demonstrated, resulting from outperformance in select commodity cycles. The ability to consistently pick commodity cycles is inherently difficult and not a focus of our investment process. However, we believe there is significant alpha-generating potential at a stock specific level, although investors need to be selective at the smaller end of the Australian small resources market.

Gold prices have been on an upward trajectory for the past two years, with a weak Australian dollar boosting the price in local currency even further. While we don’t foresee this rapid rise continuing in the short term, the investment proposition for many Australian small cap gold stocks still appears attractive, even if prices were to pull back 10-20%.

The March quarter saw considerable economic and political turmoil following the inauguration of President Trump and unsurprisingly markets responded accordingly. During the quarter, we saw a strong reversal of performance where the laggards of 2024 performed strongly in the the recent market correction.

At the 2025 Pinnacle Insights Series, Dougal Maple-Brown posed the question, "Do you have enough Value in your portfolio?" Heightened market volatility and geopolitical uncertainty has many advisers considering whether they should be more defensive with the Australian equities part of their client portfolios.

Dougal Maple-Brown, Head of Australian Value Equities provides his detailed summary of the March reporting season.

Many of the popular investment themes and crowded stock holdings driving the Australian small cap market in the 2024 calendar year have reversed in the March 2025 quarter. Given the expectation of lower domestic interest rates going forward, many of the high-flying technology, quality and growth exposed companies have been used as funding sources as investors rotate into cheaper quality stocks and/or value/cyclical exposed companies with improving earnings momentum. The question for investors is whether this is just a blip or is the rotation more sustainable? This thematic shift and heightened market volatility is creating increased value adding opportunities for active Australian small cap managers that have a competitive information advantage.

Maple-Brown Abbott Global Listed Infrastructure (MBA GLI) is a highly specialised investment manager focused on infrastructure assets. Since our inception in 2012, we have built a strong track record of delivering stable, long-term returns by investing in infrastructure. Features of the infrastructure asset class include defensive business models, diversification, inflation protection and low volatility cash flows. Our expertise, independence, and alignment with investors have made us a leader in the sector.

Looking back at 2024, history will record that the Australian equity market produced a slightly higher than 'average' total return of around 11%. However, that very “normal” looking return hides a huge dichotomy in the equity market: between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'.

In 2025, geopolitical and economic uncertainties highlight the appeal of defensive infrastructure assets. While inflation is under control, its unpredictability persists, making infrastructure with inflation pass-through mechanisms more attractive. Our preference remains for monopolistic infrastructure assets that are undervalued, benefiting from regulatory protections, strong long-term contracts, and inflation linkages. Additionally,  we see substantial organic growth opportunities for the sector, predominantly driven by the energy transition but also supported by long term investment opportunities in water, transport mobility and digitalisation.