What Matters Today: Have lithium stocks run too far & fast since March?

The local market kicked off May’s penultimate week in a subdued fashion with volumes near the lows of the year, the ASX200 slipping just -0.22% with over 60% of the mainboard closing in the red, the Banking Sector stood out on the wrong side of the ledger while the tech stocks continued their strong 2023 rally e.g. WiseTech Global (WTC) advanced +2.5% posting fresh all-time highs in the process.

MM trimmed our large holding in Xero (XRO) yesterday as planned/flagged in recent reports following its impressive +74% rally from its November low – we still hold 3% of the Flagship Growth portfolio in XRO.
We went very overweight in the growth/tech sector in Q4 of 2023 and are simply migrating back to market weight believing the “easy money” is now in the rear-view mirror as the bond yield ascent slows/ends.
FY23 to date, the Flagship Growth Portfolio is now up ~28%, around 12.5% above the market with our skew towards IT contributing to the outperformance.

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Latest Reports

Afternoon report 26/02/2026 17:21

The Match Out: Earnings & BHP propels ASX towards 9200

The ASX pushed to another record close, extending its February rally with a strong bounce back in tech on a positive read through from Nvidia’s result, and the vast majority of companies reporting better than hoped earnings.

Alerts 26/02/2026 10:10

Trade Alert – Active Growth Portfolio

We are amending the Active Growth Portfolio

Morning report 26/02/2026 11:56

What Matters Today: Is it time to tweak holdings in the beaten-up Software Sector?

The ASX 200 powered to a fresh all-time high on Wednesday, ending the session with triple-digit gains. In character with recent action on the stock/sector level, gains weren’t as broad-based as we would usually expect for such a barnstorming day, with more than 30% of the main board closing lower, along with the consumer services, defensive utilities and consumer discretionary sectors. It's starting to sound like a stuck record, but the miners performed the heavy lifting with BHP Group (BHP) contributing ~28% towards the day's gain - the “Big Australian” is on fire, adding another +3.2%, extending its surge so far in 2026 to +24%, and we’re less than two months in!

Afternoon report 26/02/2026 10:38

The Match Out: Earnings propel ASX to all-time highs

The ASX powered to a fresh record high today, brushing off a hotter-than-expected inflation print as investors leaned into a sharp rebound in technology stocks and a blockbuster earnings response from several companies.

Alerts 25/02/2026 09:58

Trade Alerts – Active Growth & Income Portfolios

We are making several changes to the growth & income portfolios

Morning report 25/02/2026 09:44

Portfolio Positioning: BHP and fellow miners keep dragging the ASX towards new all-time highs

The ASX200 closed flat on Tuesday despite less than 40% of the main board advancing. The story at the stock/sector level remained the same, with miners and banks offsetting losses across the broader market. BHP, Westpac and NAB added 24 points to the index. BHP, often referred to as the Big Australian, made new all-time highs on Tuesday, trading above $55 for the first time while it reported strongly this month, its starting to remind us of the feeding frenzy where ETF and momentum buyers drove CBA towards $200 in the first half of 2025:

Afternoon report 26/02/2026 10:41

The Match Out: Benign index move masks underlying volatility

The ASX finished essentially flat after giving back early gains, as another bout of selling in technology and financial stocks with continued weakness across the insurance complex as AI disruption fears linger

Morning report 24/02/2026 09:43

What Matters Today: Three Companies that missed the mark, but has the market hit them too hard?

The ASX200 wobbled on Monday, as was largely expected, following Trump's tariff tantrum over the weekend, which created uncertainty around US trade policy. The local bourse slipped 0.6%, with over 70% of the main board retreating, but another strong session from the miners stemmed the losses, with heavyweight BHP again posting a fresh all-time high, closing up +19% year-to-date.

Afternoon report 23/02/2026 17:30

The Match Out: US Tariff hike shrugged off early, selling intensifies through the session

The ASX drifted lower as renewed uncertainty around US trade policy weighed on risk appetite, while gold extended its rally. Markets reacted to the US Supreme Court curbing President Trump’s tariff powers, prompting him to flag a temporary 15% blanket tariff on imports. The policy whiplash lifted safe havens, pushed the Aussie dollar towards US70.9c, and reignited selling pressure in technology.

Morning report 23/02/2026 09:25

Macro Monday: Don’t panic around Trumps 15% tariffs

On Friday, the US Supreme Court struck down most of Trump’s sweeping tariff policy under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, ruling in a 6-3 vote that the law does not authorise the president to impose tariffs. Markets reacted positively to the ruling, with stocks rising, including Amazon, up more than 2%, alongside gains in retailers Home Depot and Five Below, amid hopes of relief from tariff-driven cost pressures and sticky inflation.