At Livewire Live, Dougal Maple-Brown, Head of Australian Value Equities, made a two-part "shocking prediction": CSL would double from its lows and Commonwealth Bank (CBA) would halve from its highs. Before he even took the stage, CSL had all but doubled from its May low of ~$90. Find out why Dougal believes valuation is behind both calls, why CBA could fall to $100 a share, and why we are overweight healthcare for the first time in decades.

In the current environment of strong and growing electricity demand, the nature of investment opportunities continue to evolve. On our September research trip to Portugal, Spain, the UK and the US, we found two opportunities we believe the market is under-appreciating. Europe’s data center growth is happening in Iberia; while battery storage investments are generating attractive returns for developers and addressing customer affordability for US regulated utilities. Read the full insights to see what we learned on the ground.

Not all infrastructure is created equal. As private infrastructure becomes more accessible alongside global listed infrastructure, knowing how a manager defines the asset class has never mattered more. On Zenith Investment Partners' Investment Researcher podcast, Steven Kempler shares the simple test we use to separate true infrastructure from essential services that don't make the cut, and why regulated energy networks are attracting investment that is largely disconnected from economic cycles. He also explores data centres, take-privates and how listed and private infrastructure can complement each other.

Healthcare rose 20%, the banks fell 10%, and a market that looked flat from a distance. Dougal Maple-Brown, Head of Australian Value Equities, explains what drove the split, why we are now as underweight the banks as we have been in 40 years, and how the sell-off in expensive growth names, CSL among them, created the opportunity value investors had waited years for. Watch the full update.

Australian small caps had one of their strongest reporting seasons in years, finishing August comfortably ahead of large caps. Resources led the way, with gold the standout and small cap gold equities amplifying the move well beyond the commodity price. Acquirers were active at the small end too, with takeover bids landing at meaningful premiums to pre-bid share prices. Small caps continue to trade below their long-run average valuation, with stronger earnings growth expected than large caps. Watch Phillip Hudak, Co-Portfolio Manager of the Maple-Brown Abbott Australian Small Companies Fund, on the key themes from the August reporting season.

The environment for responsible investment continues to evolve, and in certain markets the debate surrounding ESG has become increasingly polarised. Our position remains unchanged. We focus on the environmental, social and governance factors that are financially material to the companies held in the Fund, and on the management of those factors in the long-term interests of our investors. Where third-party coverage of the smaller end of the domestic market is thin, proprietary research and direct engagement with boards and management become the means by which that view is formed. Our ESG report for the Maple-Brown Abbott Australian Small Companies Fund records both over the 2026 financial year.

FY26 was a testing year for active small cap managers. Here's what actually drove it, and why the setup from here looks more interesting. William Hanna, Investment Analyst – Maple-Brown Abbott Australian Small Companies Fund, looks beneath the index: industrials down 4% while resources rose 30%, the unwind of the crowded tech and gold trades, and a gold universe that's drastically changed. He also explains why the small caps derate over the last 12 months is the kind of discomfort that has historically preceded stronger forward returns – and why the team isn't sitting around waiting on the RBA.

Our recent US trip took us across five cities, meeting management teams, industry experts and policymakers. The most valuable insights emerge from the pattern that forms when dozens of conversations begin pointing the same way. This trip surfaced five thematics, from an AI build-out that is really a story about power and connectivity to structural defence spending and a resilient US consumer. We explore what each means for finding Australian small companies on the right side of these shifts.

Materials has been the standout sector on the ASX, surging more than 45% on demand tied to the global AI build-out. But with commodity prices near multi-year highs and valuations rerating, has the rally run its course? In this episode of Livewire's Buy Hold Sell, Maple-Brown Abbott's Dougal Maple-Brown explains how the team anchors its view on a long-term price deck and names the one diversified miner he's backing for the year ahead.