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.
BEc, LLB (Hons), FFIN, CFA
Dougal joined Maple-Brown Abbott in 2001 as an equity analyst. He is currently a portfolio manager and equities analyst. Dougal was an Executive Director from July 2009 to October 2018. Dougal’s responsibilities include equity analysis and portfolio management, including managing a large number of institutional and retail accounts. He attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 2014. Prior to joining Maple-Brown Abbott Dougal worked in a national law firm and at an international investment bank.
Dougal joined Maple-Brown Abbott in 2001 as an equity analyst. He is currently a portfolio manager and equities analyst. Dougal was an Executive Director from July 2009 to October 2018. Dougal’s responsibilities include equity analysis and portfolio management, including managing a large number of institutional and retail accounts. He attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 2014. Prior to joining Maple-Brown Abbott Dougal worked in a national law firm and at an international investment bank.
Board and committee membership:
Asset Allocation Committee
Dougal
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Investment Insights
8 min
Beyond the chips five thematics from our US trip
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.
11 min
Why correlations matter – the role of infrastructure in a portfolio
A portfolio is only as diversified as its least correlated assets. When equities and bonds moved together in 2022 – and again when tech stocks sold off and geopolitical tensions escalated in early 2026 – investors with a strategic allocation to global listed infrastructure were better placed than most. This white paper examines why infrastructure plays a structurally different role in a portfolio, and what the latest data tells us about the durability of that role across different market environments.
7 min
Debt down $130m, earnings ahead. Why this fundie is still buying this ASX small cap
Phillip Hudak joins Livewire Markets to share his latest buy, a new AI exposed name on the watchlist, and a position he's just trimmed – plus why Australian small caps could be quietly setting up for a meaningful catch-up trade.
6 min
Oil–Geopolitical conflict and why small caps is the winner in a recovery
Geopolitical shock. Market volatility. And an opportunity set in Australian small caps that we believe is as compelling as we have seen in some time. In this quarterly update, we examine why the 2026 oil shock is fundamentally different from previous cycles – and why the resulting volatility has created a genuine buying opportunity. With the Small Ordinaries trading at a 17% discount to the ASX 100 and consensus earnings growth forecast at 26% for FY26, the case for small caps is strengthening.
