Navigating the noise – conversations with the Natixis Investment Managers Expert Collective.

Small-mid cap reporting season update – big swings, margin pressure

IML Portfolio Manager Marc Whittaker talks to Jason Guthrie about another volatile reporting season in the small to mid-cap end of the ASX. As always there have been many winners and losers and Marc discusses the trends he is seeing including margin pressures and a reckoning for some of the best performing companies and sectors of recent months.
Marc also outlines the performance of a some of IML’s key holdings including Mayne Pharma (MYX), oOh!Media (ASX:OML), Integral Diagnostics (IDX) and Light & Wonder (ASX:LNW).

IML large cap reporting season update: defensive stocks doing well

IML Portfolio Manager Michael O’Neill discusses how investors have been rotating away from away from momentum-driven stocks with high valuations towards more defensive stocks with strong fundamentals in this reporting season. He also shares his thoughts on the performance of the major banks and iron ore miners as well as some of the key stocks in IML’s portfolios including Brambles (BXB), Charter Hall Retail REIT (CQR), CSL (CSL) and Amcor (AMC).

Is this ASX healthcare stock ready to rocket post-merger?

Integral Diagnostics (ASX:IDX) had a great year in 2024; its share price was up around 50% as its business recovered from the post-Covid doldrums. It has just completed a merger with Capitol Health to make it Australia’s second largest radiology provider and IML portfolio manager Marc Whittaker believes this has it well set up for its next phase of growth.
In this podcast Marc discusses why Integral Diagnostics is one of his highest conviction holdings in IML’s small and mid cap funds.

Is the lower middle market the key to private assets alpha?

Nitin Gupta, Managing Partner and Co-CIO of Flexstone, believes that every investor in private assets should have an allocation to the lower middle market as it drives both portfolio diversification and alpha. He says that this lower middle-market focus, along with Flexstone’s relationships and access, due diligence and investment process and strategy all combine to give Flexstone its enviable track record of never losing money on any of its funds, over its nearly 20-year track record.
In this wide-ranging podcast he talks to Louise Watson from Natixis Investment Managers about:
How he first started in investing and why he chose private markets and Flexstone (3min 12sec)
Flexstone’s focus on the lower middle market and its investing ‘special sauce’ (7min 2sec)
The best and worst investments in his career and what he learned from them (10min 30sec)
The growth of private assets and whether there is a bubble (17min 24sec)
Why Flexstone invests in everyday, ‘boring’ businesses (19min 48sec)
How Flexstone adds value to the businesses it invests in (22min 50sec)
 

IML small-mid cap update – December quarter 2024

2024 was another strong year for share markets and for IML’s small and mid cap funds. In this podcast Simon Conn, Senior Portfolio Manager, discusses how IML’s small and mid cap funds performed during the final quarter of 2024 including the performance of key stocks.

IML large cap wrap – December quarter 2024

After a strong year for share markets in 2024 things ended with a whimper as the ASX 300 dropped during December. IML Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of Research Hugh Giddy discusses how IML’s funds performed during the final quarter of 2024 and looks ahead to what he thinks 2025 might bring.

What are the prospects for China’s steel and lithium industries?

China is Australia’s largest trading partner, so any significant changes in the Chinese economy can have big impacts on Australia’s economy, share markets and the wellbeing of everyday Australians. In this podcast Jason Guthrie chats to IML Portfolio Manager Daniel Moore after his return from a research trip to China. They discuss:
How China’s economy is performing, including on-the-ground feedback
The recent Chinese stimulus and potential future stimulus
The ramifications of a second Donald Trump US Presidency
The Chinese property market
Chinese steel and lithium industries

This ASX 20 stock is up c. 35% in 2024, is there more to come?

Brambles is an Australian global success story and a high-conviction holding in IML’s large-cap portfolios. It has had a very successful year and is up around 35% in 2024, but is it in now fully valued, or is there more to come?
In this podcast, IML Equity Analyst Josh Freiman talks Jason Guthrie through his investment thesis for IML’s Stock of the Month, Brambles, and why he forecasts compound annual earnings per share (EPS) growth of more than 10% for the next three years.

How much more Nvidia and Apple do you need?

Chris Wallis, Vaughan Nelson CEO and CIO thinks that AI is both ‘over-hyped and underappreciated’ and better investment opportunities could lie outside megacap tech, particularly in global small-mid caps. In this in-depth podcast Chris talks to Louise Watson, Head of Country for Natixis Investment Managers Australia about:
Why he first started investing and why he loves it
Where he is seeing the best investment opportunities
His thoughts on the global economy and future prospects
Why global small-mid caps are misunderstood and why it is an attractive asset class
What sets Vaughan Nelson apart, including the Vaughan Nelson culture

Large cap portfolio update – September quarter 2024

In this podcast, IML large cap portfolio manager, Daniel Moore, chats to Carl McMinn about a very eventful September quarter. He outlines how the Big 4 Banks and large resources companies drove the ASX 300 over the quarter and affected IML’s large cap performance.