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
In a month where a lot happened, not much changed for the Long Portfolio, which finished slightly down in April. The period was dominated by geopolitical tension, particularly the sharp escalation in US – China trade dispute following the announcement of sweeping tariffs. This added to ongoing uncertainty around inflation, growth, and the direction of interest rates. Central banks, including the US Federal Reserve, remained cautious, contributing to an unsettled backdrop for risk assets.
As we noted earlier in April, conditions were likely to get messier before any meaningful pivot — and that view has largely played out. While fear remains elevated, signs of a coming policy shift are emerging. We continue to see this dislocation as opportunity in the making. Our underlying managers remain focused on company fundamentals, selectively adding to high-quality businesses trading at more attractive levels. Our disciplined, long-term approach remains unchanged — managing through uncertainty while positioning the portfolio to benefit when sentiment improves.
Short Term Portfolio
April was a month that tested patience and rewarded discipline. Markets were rattled early after President Trump’s unexpected tariff announcement on April 2, sparking a broad selloff across shares, bonds, commodities, and currencies. This sort of “everything down” reaction is rare and highlights how unsettled the market was. While the US softened its stance a week later, uncertainty from these on-again, off-again policy moves has likely already had an impact — slowing growth and adding to inflation risk.
In that context, the Short SMA delivered a steady +0.56% return. It’s not flashy — and that’s the point. When markets are bouncing around like a pinball, we stick to our knitting: protect capital, stay defensive, and focus on quality. This portfolio is designed to reduce surprises and provide stability, and April was a clear example of why that matters. The strategy remains unchanged: stay disciplined, avoid the noise, and let quality assets do the work.
Micro Cap Report
April 2025 saw volatility remain a defining feature in global markets. This was largely driven by the escalating trade tensions and volatile economic signals. US technology stocks rebounded strongly after an early selloff, while defensive sectors outperformed in Australia. Commodity markets softened, but gold surged to record highs as investors sought safety.
Following the early April sharp declines markets recovered much of their losses as tariff negotiations progressed. This led to a small positive outcome for the Micro Portfolio.
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.