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

Quality, income, and opportunity in a volatile market

The first quarter of 2026 delivered a sharp lesson in market volatility, as intense disruptions from AI and the Iran conflict, reshaped investment landscapes. Amidst this choppiness, there are opportunities for active investors. Join Carl McMinn and Michael O'Neill, portfolio manager for IML's Equity Income and All Industrials Funds, as they dissect the key market movements of Q1 2026. Discover how IML's large cap funds navigated the turbulence, which sectors proved resilient, and where Michael sees enduring value in quality businesses, robust income streams, and overlooked opportunities.

What have the IML small cap team been buying?

Volatility can be an active manager’s friend – if you’re prepared of course. In this podcast IML’s small-mid cap portfolio managers, Marc Whittaker and Lucas Goode, talk to Carl McMinn about how things went in the first quarter of 2026 and the quality companies they’ve been able to pick up at cheaper prices.

How this software stock defied the SaaSpocalypse

IML portfolio managers Marc Whittaker and Lucas Goode discuss the AI selloff during reporting season and how the immediate risk to many smaller companies might be overblown. They take a detailed look at Hansen Technologies (ASX: HSN), a software stock which managed to avoid the worst of the selloff, partly through a strong result and also through its CEO effectively communicating how Hansen is, in fact, benefitting from AI disruption. Finally, Marc and Lucas take a look at the incredible ~60% outperformance of small cap resources companies over industrial companies over the last six months and discuss whether this is likely to continue.

Where is value on offer in the great AI selloff?

An extra dose of uncertainty has been woven into this reporting season, with a wide swathe of stocks, particularly Software as a Service (SaaS) sold off on concerns that AI will disrupt their businesses. In this podcast IML large cap portfolio manager, Daniel Moore, discusses the stocks where he thinks the falls are fair, versus those where he sees value on offer.
Daniel also covers:
What big Aussie companies are telling him on AI disruption and white-collar redundancies
Where investors are turning, and why, as they sell off SaaS
How exposed IML’s large cap portfolios are to technology stocks
Which resources stocks he likes and what he thinks of gold’s recent run
Recorded on 23 February 2026DR 77479

US core real estate 'historically' attractive

According to Sara Cassidy, Head of Portfolio Management for AEW’s North American Business, it is potentially the best entry point for US core real estate in years. Sara says that property valuations have absorbed higher interest rates and declined materially and today valuations are beginning to grow again with total returns expected to be higher.
Listen to the full podcast where Sara talks to Louise Watson about:
Why US core real estate looks “really attractive” right now
The opportunity in seniors housing
The risks and opportunities in data centres
The role warehouses and industrial play in US core real estate
How politics and ESG are currently impacting US real estate investing.
This podcast was recorded on Friday, 13 February 2026. DR 77362.

2025 was a golden year for small caps, but what else shone?

The ASX Small Ordinaries delivered an impressive return of 25% in 2025, comfortably outperforming large caps. Of that 25% return, an amazing 20% came from the materials sector, most of that gold, but what happened in the rest of the market?
In this podcast IML Portfolio Manager Marc Whittaker digs into the performance of Australian small caps last year, as well as giving an update on the performance of IML’s small-mid cap funds and a look ahead to what 2026 might bring.

IML large cap wrap for 2025

The Australian share market had another good year in 2025, the third year in a row of greater than 10% returns. But what were the standout stocks and sectors, and where do the opportunities lie in 2026?
In this podcast IML Portfolio Manager Michael O’Neill discusses the main drivers of returns last year, as well as giving an update on the performance of IML’s large cap funds and his thoughts on what 2026 might bring.

IML's top small cap for 2025

In this special podcast IML small-mid cap portfolio managers Marc Whittaker and Lucas Goode reveal their top small cap pick for 2025. This stock is up around 40% so far this year, but Marc and Lucas think it ticks all the boxes for quality and value and is also looking good for 2026.

IML large caps – Sept 2025 quarterly update

IML Portfolio managers Michael O’Neill and Daniel Moore discuss what happened in markets in the September quarter as well as the performance of IML’s large cap funds, key stocks in the portfolio including a new addition.

Investing in the transitions changing our world

We are in a time of great global change where powerful megatrends are reshaping our society and the global economy.
Jens Peers, CIO of Mirova US and portfolio manager of the Mirova Global Sustainable Equity Strategy, believes that investing in these secular megatrends, or transitions, could be a powerful driver of investment returns over the long term. Those four key transitions being: demographic, technological, environmental and governance.
Listen to the full podcast in which Jens joins Louise Watson to delve into the dynamic landscape of investment opportunities emerging from these global transitions:
How he is playing the AI theme as its adoption continues apace
How the tech bubble of the early 2000’s compares with today
Opportunities, and risks, in the energy transition
The generational divide in consumer needs and preferences
The rise of the middle class in emerging markets
Geopolitical trends, and one policy on which Jens agrees with Trump
The one long-term theme that isn’t yet in the portfolio which he finds most exciting