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.
Long Term Portfolio
Global share markets started the year steadily, with energy companies leading gains as colder weather increased gas demand and geopolitical tensions supported oil prices. More broadly, markets were supported by resilient economic data and stable company profit expectations. In Australia, returns were more concentrated, with resource stocks the standout while many steady, high-quality businesses lagged despite little change in their underlying outlook.
It’s important to note the Australian dollar rose sharply in January, which reduced the value of overseas investments when translated back into Aussie dollars. In the months ahead, as companies report their results, attention is likely to return to earnings, cash flow and balance sheet strength. Periods like this, where performance is narrow and sentiment-driven, can create opportunities to invest in strong businesses at attractive long-term valuations.
Short Term Portfolio
The Short SMA returned +0.40% in January, delivering a steady result in a month where defensive assets again provided important stability. Income remained the primary contributor, supported by high-quality credit exposures that continued to perform consistently despite rising bond yields.
Across global and Australian markets, defensive conditions improved as yields moved higher. Ten-year government bond yields rose in the US, UK, Japan and Australia as markets reassessed central bank policy amid persistent inflation. In Australia, the higher-than-expected December inflation print pushed local yields upward and contributed to the RBA’s decision to raise the cash rate to 3.85% in early February, reinforcing the Bank’s cautious stance.
Despite geopolitical noise and rotations within risk markets, defensive assets held firm, with investment-grade credit spreads remaining tight and alternative defensive strategies proving resilient. Against this backdrop, the Short SMA continued to deliver on its objective: providing stable income, managing risk, and preserving capital through uncertain conditions.
Micro Cap Report
Equity markets entered 2026 with greater resilience than many expected, despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, sticky inflation and pockets of slowing global growth. Returns were uneven, reinforcing the importance of selecting the right investment managers as performance became more concentrated. It is anticipated that volatility will remain at the forefront to the first half of 2026.
Domestic small caps started 2026 strongly, extending their outperformance of large caps – a theme that dominated the last half of 2025. Gains were driven by small resources, up 12.5 per cent, while small industrials declined 2.0 per cent, highlighting ongoing sector dispersion within the market.
International equities had a similar theme to the domestic market, however without the inflation concerns. Returns to the micro portfolio were hampered by the strength of the Aussie dollar.
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.