At Forrest Private Wealth, our investment philosophy underpins our financial planning advice, which ensures our client’s wealth benefits from long-term exposure to equity markets. We believe holding a well-diversified portfolio of predominantly dividend-paying businesses over a long-term period is essential in financial planning for wealth accumulation and, ultimately, retirement planning.
By following our retirement planning process, a Forrest Private Wealth financial planner stays true to their investment advice, ignoring the noise and pressures of the market to provide their clients with a stress-free retirement. At Forrest Private Wealth, our financial planners capitalise on an investment philosophy that provides predictable income streams from equity markets, setting clients up for their desired retirement.
Portfolio Commentary
May showed that equity markets are still prepared to reward earnings certainty, even in an uncertain macro environment. The rally was not simply about lower rates or better sentiment; it was about investors paying up for companies exposed to durable profit growth, especially AI infrastructure, semiconductors and quality growth. The risk is concentration, but the opportunity remains clear: stay invested, stay selective, and let earnings, not headlines, drive portfolio positioning.
SpaceX listed on the Nasdaq on June 12th — the largest IPO in history — and the financial media made sure everyone knew about it. But here’s something worth
keeping in mind: for most investors with a diversified portfolio, the direct impact is likely to be pretty modest. The reason comes down to one simple idea: Elon Musk isn’t selling much of it. When a founder retains most of the company, only a small slice of shares actually trades on the market and index funds, which many portfolios rely on for broad market exposure, can only buy what’s available. A $1.75 trillion company with a tiny public float ends up with a surprisingly small footprint in your portfolio. It’s a good reminder that the size of a headline and the size of the actual impact on your investments are often very different things.
ECONOMIC REVIEW
May presented a notable contradiction: domestic bonds delivered a solid return despite the Reserve Bank of Australia tightening policy for the third consecutive month. The Bloomberg AusBond Composite 0+ Yr Index advanced 1.62% as longer dated yields fell, reflecting the market’s view that the current tightening cycle is approaching its end and that a slowing economy will ultimately do more to anchor inflation than the rate lever alone. Australian equities held up well in this environment, with the S&P/ASX 300 TR returning 1.25%.
The RBA raised the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.35% at its May meeting, fully unwinding the easing cycle of 2025. The decision cited a material re-acceleration of inflation since the middle of last year and acknowledged that the protracted conflict in the Middle East has added a persistent energy cost shock to an already elevated domestic price level. Headline CPI eased to 4.2% year-on-year in the month to April, down from 4.6% in the March quarter, largely due to moderating transport costs. However, the trimmed mean edged higher to 3.4%, signalling that underlying price pressures remain broad-based and have not yet responded decisively to tighter policy. The RBA’s own projections see headline inflation peaking around 4.8% in the June quarter before a gradual descent, with the trimmed mean not expected to return to the midpoint of the 2–3% target band until mid-2028.
Labour market conditions, which had provided one of the more reassuring features of the domestic outlook, showed early signs of deterioration. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rose to 4.5% in April as employment declined by approximately 19,000 persons, the first meaningful fall in several months. While a single month’s data warrants caution, the direction is consistent with higher borrowing costs beginning to restrain household and business activity.
Forrest Private Wealth’s discipline in providing financial planning, retirement planning, and wealth management services to its clients allows our clients to benefit from years of experience providing financial advice through major impacts to equity markets where staying the course has helped them.
Forrest Private Wealth has a dedicated team of financial planners and support staff providing clients with peace of mind in working towards and achieving their life goals.