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

Small caps big bounces: reporting season update

IML portfolio manager Lucas Goode talks to Jason Guthrie about the excellent reporting season for many small cap companies. The small cap index was up around 8% at the time of recording, despite extreme volatility.

Reporting season: extreme reactions abound

IML portfolio managers Hugh Giddy and Daniel Moore talk to Gavin Butt about how extreme reactions to relatively run-of-the-mill results have turned this into a very volatile reporting season. In the full podcast they discuss:
The main takeaways from reporting season
The key results they think investors should pay attention to
How IML’s holdings have performed
And how their future outlook has changed with what they’ve learned in the past month

IML small-mid cap funds – end of financial year 2025 update

Portfolio manager Marc Whittaker talks to Jason Guthrie about how IML's small-mid cap funds performed over the quarter and financial year. He also discusses performance of key stocks and a new position for the funds.

IML large cap funds – end of financial year 2025 update

Portfolio managers Hugh Giddy and Daniel Moore discuss what happened in markets in the June quarter as well as the performance of IML's large cap funds and key stocks over financial year 2025.

Is there still room to play offence with defence stocks?

With the ongoing war in Ukraine, continuing conflict in the Middle East, and a reshaping of the global framework underway since Donald Trump came to office, defence stocks have been hot property in the world of investing. While Australian investors don’t have that many options when investing locally, an exception is ship builder Austal (ASX:ASB). 
Austal has been a long-term holding for IML’s small and mid cap funds, which have seen its share price triple since the start of 2024. However IML portfolio manager Lucas Goode thinks there could still be plenty of upside for Austal in years to come. 

It’s more uncertain today than at any time in my entire career

That is the perspective of David Rolley, Co-Head of the Global Fixed Income Team at Loomis Sayles who has worked in markets for more than 40 years. David thinks that the current White House: “isn't convinced that the global foreign policy, trade, defence, and financial architecture that we've had for the last 80 years serves their purpose.” This is causing considerable change to the global economy and financial markets while making bond, credit, currency and equity markets riskier places to invest.
 
Listen to the full podcast where David talks to Louise Watson about:
How he believes investors should be approaching this great time of uncertainty
Why the structural changes happening to the global economy are the most important in 80 years
Why he thinks the US is a riskier place to invest and whether this is accurately priced in
Whether he believes fixed income will be an effective hedge for equity markets in future
How he is positioning fixed income portfolios in these times and
The lessons he has learned over 40 years in markets

A contrarian manager sees potential upside in downside volatility

Hollie Briggs and the Loomis Sayles Growth Equity Strategies Team are not overly concerned by the current market volatility. In fact, they see it as potentially an exciting opportunity to buy high-quality companies at discounted prices, which are then less risky than they were previously. The Team has been working together since 2006, successfully navigating the Global Financial Crisis and Covid pandemic, which both turned up many more buying opportunities than normal. In this podcast interview Hollie talks to Louise Watson about:
How the Team views this period of volatility compared to times past
Why investors need to ‘look through’ the current volatility and focus on fundamentals to benefit from it
How some measures of diversification can give investors false comfort and the measure which Hollie prefers
Why they continue to back their portfolio holdings, including 6 of the Magnificent 7
Why they first bought Amazon in 2006 and continue to hold it today

Medibank is up 25% this year, is there more in the tank?

Medibank is a long-term holding for IML. While it has performed well over the years, its share price has hit new heights this year as investors turned to defensive, domestically focused stocks amid the uncertainty and macro-economic volatility.

How are IML’s small cap portfolios navigating the volatility?

IML Portfolio Manager, Marc Whittaker, talks to Jason Guthrie about how IML’s small and mid cap portfolios have navigated the recent market volatility and wraps up performance for the first quarter of 2025. Marc also discusses how exposed the companies in the portfolios are to the US’s new tariff regime.

“This should not have surprised anyone” Trump and the great rebalancing

Louise Watson talks to Chris Wallis, CEO and CIO of Vaughan Nelson, about Trump’s tariffs and recent policy changes and the current market volatility. Chris believes that the current market turmoil is an inevitable part of a global change to trade and capital flows that has been going on since 2021 which he calls: “the great rebalancing”.
After a period of US exceptionalism where everyone had piled into US large cap stocks and mega-cap technology, Chris says capital is now flowing out of an over-invested US and “going home”.
Listen to the full podcast where Chris also discusses:
How his portfolios are positioned for this volatility
The countries and geographic areas he is most confident in, including why he thinks Chinese equities are a “dead cat bounce” and investors in ‘ReArm Europe’ should book their profits and move on
The equity asset class where he has his highest personal allocation
The big risk he thinks many investors are not fully grasping.
For those who enjoyed Chris Wallis's macro and market commentary, you can hear him regularly on the Vaughan Nelson Investment Management Podcast on Soundcloud, Spotify, and Apple.