Australian equity funds experienced a standout year, with resources and small-cap strategies delivering exceptional returns. Tectonic Investment Management’s Opportunities Fund led the charge, posting a remarkable 146.4 per cent return. Tectonic Investment Management is a fund manager that invests in future champions. Their flagship fund and other vehicles control 7.3% of unlisted artificial intelligence start-up Firmus Technologies, which drove the fund’s performance as Firmus’s equity value tripled last year.
SG Hiscock’s Emerging Companies fund also performed strongly, benefiting from a shift away from ASX blue chips towards smaller companies. This fund finished ninth in Fund Monitors’ rankings with a 64.7 per cent return, surpassing the S&P/ASX Emerging Companies Accumulation Index. SG Hiscock is an investment manager with a focus on identifying and investing in emerging companies with high growth potential. The fund also capitalised on the rally in precious metals, holding positions in companies like Gold 50, Southern Palladium, and Andean Silver.
Resources funds generally dominated the top performers, boosted by surges in gold and silver prices, as well as supply disruptions in copper and a lithium market rebound. Paragon’s commodity-focused strategy topped the charts with a 294 per cent return. Baker Steel Capital and Argonaut Funds Management’s gold funds also achieved impressive results, with returns of 172.5 per cent and 119.4 per cent, respectively.
Looking ahead, fund managers are optimistic about continued growth in specific sectors. Argonaut is optimistic about uranium, while Acorn Capital focuses on early-stage gold miners. Terra Capital has taken profits on some of its junior silver stocks and is now looking to add larger diversified miners to its portfolios.
