Page 4 - Private Wealth Specialist Growth Assertive

Portfolio Update
Portfolio returns for the March quarter were strong again, following on from a healthy December quarter, pushing annual returns well above historical
averages and our expectations.

Momentum is clearly winning out in markets with any disappointment regarding delays to pending rate cuts being patched over by ongoing resiliency
in economic fortunes versus previous recessionary fears.

Equities drove portfolio returns in the quarter, in particular global equities. US equities continue to dominate global equity markets with the
“Magnificent 7” becoming the “Fab 4” in the quarter, further exacerbating the narrowness of the current rally as A.I. fever took an even firmer grip.
Australian small companies outperformed large companies whilst emerging markets lagged developed markets. Global listed property and
infrastructure produced admirable returns, but were left in the wake of global equities, whilst it was a mixed bag for bonds in the period with
government bonds weak as yields rose and tighter spreads on credit securities pushing prices higher.

Within Australian equities, stock selection within the direct equities held were amongst the portfolio highlights. The stock portfolio strongly
outperformed its benchmark owing to some bumper returns from a wide range of stocks including Ampol, Carsales.com, GQG Partners, NextDC,
ResMed, and Treasury Wine Estates. Very pleased with the eclectic mix of winners. Vanguard MSCI Australian Small Companies also assisted as small
companies outperformed large company stocks.

Within Global equities, iShares Core S&P 500 and iShares Global 100 were the highlights, particularly the latter with its significant overweight to
technology and communication services sectors and sizable positioning in many of the “Magnificent 7” names. In contrast, relative returns were
dragged down by Vanguard All World Ex-US Shares given the absence of US stocks and higher weighting to Asian / emerging markets, though it still
produced a very strong return.

Within Property & Infrastructure, returns dragged versus broader global equities. Global listed property manager Resolution Capital was the highlight,
albeit only for small part of the quarter given its portfolio inclusion in early March, benefiting from its Japanese and Australian names. Manager
selection in global listed infrastructure hurt relative returns with MFG not holding enough US and utilities exposure.

Within Cash & Bonds, positioning assisted in the period given our underweight to interest rate risk as bond yields rose (prices fell), whilst investment
selection also helped with ETFs holding hybrid securities the highlight as hybrid spreads tightened. Ardea detracted with their positioning hurting
returns.

On an absolute basis, the best and worst performing investments were as follows:

Top 3:

- GQG Partners Inc.

- NextDC

- ResMed

Bottom 3:

- Domino’s Pizza

- Corporate Travel Management

- TPG Telecom

Portfolio changes during the quarter:
There were quite a few portfolio changes in the quarter, as previously communicated. The portfolio was de-risked by lowering the exposure to growth
assets in favour of defensive assets. The allocation to infrastructure was reduced to make room for the inclusion of global listed property given our
improving view in the latter. There was also a raft of investment changes as we sought to ensure the holdings in the portfolio better reflected our
forward-looking view of the pending market environment. These included:

• South32 and James Hardie sold

• Newmont and Lynas Rare Earths bought

• Resolution Capital Global Property Securities ETF bought

• Vaughan Nelson Global SMID ETF bought

• Betashares Active Australian Hybrids ETF sold