June 2023 Market Summary

Negative news flow failed to derail the equities train, which continued to steam higher. International Equities (hedged: +4.5%, unhedged: +2.6%) and the local market (ASX 200: +1.8%) both performed strongly in June, despite additional rate rises. Bonds took a breather (Bloomberg AusBond: -2%), retracing some of their gains in March during the US banking struggles.

The big news in the local equity market was the CSL earnings downgrade, which caught many investors off guard. China's data continues to underwhelm, disappointing many investors that had banked on a great re-opening trade. Large cap tech continues to perform, as investors increase their faith in the idea of an AI revolution.

Looking ahead, we remain somewhat wary of equity markets given the current fundamental backdrop, awaiting more attractive opportunities to increase our risk exposure. We continue to believe that in the short term, disinflation will dominate asset pricing, and are positioned accordingly.

Adviser Services Hub Portfolios

The portfolios finished the financial year with a reasonable return of between 7.1% on Moderate to 12.3% on High Growth.

This is all the more noteworthy given the portfolios have been relatively defensive in an equity market that has outperformed expectations significantly.