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

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.

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

IML portfolio manager Lucas Goode talks to Jason Guthrie about the excellent reporting season for many small cap companies. The small cap index was up around 8% at the time of recording, despite extreme volatility.

IML portfolio managers Hugh Giddy and Daniel Moore talk to Gavin Butt about how extreme reactions to relatively run-of-the-mill results have turned this into a very volatile reporting season. In the full podcast they discuss: The main takeaways from reporting season The key results they think investors should pay attention to How IML’s holdings have performed And how their future outlook has changed with what they’ve learned in the past month

Portfolio manager Marc Whittaker talks to Jason Guthrie about how IML's small-mid cap funds performed over the quarter and financial year. He also discusses performance of key stocks and a new position for the funds.

Portfolio managers Hugh Giddy and Daniel Moore discuss what happened in markets in the June quarter as well as the performance of IML's large cap funds and key stocks over financial year 2025.

With the ongoing war in Ukraine, continuing conflict in the Middle East, and a reshaping of the global framework underway since Donald Trump came to office, defence stocks have been hot property in the world of investing. While Australian investors don’t have that many options when investing locally, an exception is ship builder Austal (ASX:ASB).  Austal has been a long-term holding for IML’s small and mid cap funds, which have seen its share price triple since the start of 2024. However IML portfolio manager Lucas Goode thinks there could still be plenty of upside for Austal in years to come. 

That is the perspective of David Rolley, Co-Head of the Global Fixed Income Team at Loomis Sayles who has worked in markets for more than 40 years. David thinks that the current White House: “isn't convinced that the global foreign policy, trade, defence, and financial architecture that we've had for the last 80 years serves their purpose.” This is causing considerable change to the global economy and financial markets while making bond, credit, currency and equity markets riskier places to invest.   Listen to the full podcast where David talks to Louise Watson about: How he believes investors should be approaching this great time of uncertainty Why the structural changes happening to the global economy are the most important in 80 years Why he thinks the US is a riskier place to invest and whether this is accurately priced in Whether he believes fixed income will be an effective hedge for equity markets in future How he is positioning fixed income portfolios in these times and The lessons he has learned over 40 years in markets

Hollie Briggs and the Loomis Sayles Growth Equity Strategies Team are not overly concerned by the current market volatility. In fact, they see it as potentially an exciting opportunity to buy high-quality companies at discounted prices, which are then less risky than they were previously. The Team has been working together since 2006, successfully navigating the Global Financial Crisis and Covid pandemic, which both turned up many more buying opportunities than normal. In this podcast interview Hollie talks to Louise Watson about: How the Team views this period of volatility compared to times past Why investors need to ‘look through’ the current volatility and focus on fundamentals to benefit from it How some measures of diversification can give investors false comfort and the measure which Hollie prefers Why they continue to back their portfolio holdings, including 6 of the Magnificent 7 Why they first bought Amazon in 2006 and continue to hold it today

Medibank is a long-term holding for IML. While it has performed well over the years, its share price has hit new heights this year as investors turned to defensive, domestically focused stocks amid the uncertainty and macro-economic volatility.

IML Portfolio Manager, Marc Whittaker, talks to Jason Guthrie about how IML’s small and mid cap portfolios have navigated the recent market volatility and wraps up performance for the first quarter of 2025. Marc also discusses how exposed the companies in the portfolios are to the US’s new tariff regime.

Louise Watson talks to Chris Wallis, CEO and CIO of Vaughan Nelson, about Trump’s tariffs and recent policy changes and the current market volatility. Chris believes that the current market turmoil is an inevitable part of a global change to trade and capital flows that has been going on since 2021 which he calls: “the great rebalancing”. After a period of US exceptionalism where everyone had piled into US large cap stocks and mega-cap technology, Chris says capital is now flowing out of an over-invested US and “going home”. Listen to the full podcast where Chris also discusses: How his portfolios are positioned for this volatility The countries and geographic areas he is most confident in, including why he thinks Chinese equities are a “dead cat bounce” and investors in ‘ReArm Europe’ should book their profits and move on The equity asset class where he has his highest personal allocation The big risk he thinks many investors are not fully grasping. For those who enjoyed Chris Wallis's macro and market commentary, you can hear him regularly on the Vaughan Nelson Investment Management Podcast on Soundcloud, Spotify, and Apple.  

IML Portfolio Manager Marc Whittaker talks to Jason Guthrie about another volatile reporting season in the small to mid-cap end of the ASX. As always there have been many winners and losers and Marc discusses the trends he is seeing including margin pressures and a reckoning for some of the best performing companies and sectors of recent months. Marc also outlines the performance of a some of IML’s key holdings including Mayne Pharma (MYX), oOh!Media (ASX:OML), Integral Diagnostics (IDX) and Light & Wonder (ASX:LNW).

IML Portfolio Manager Michael O’Neill discusses how investors have been rotating away from away from momentum-driven stocks with high valuations towards more defensive stocks with strong fundamentals in this reporting season. He also shares his thoughts on the performance of the major banks and iron ore miners as well as some of the key stocks in IML’s portfolios including Brambles (BXB), Charter Hall Retail REIT (CQR), CSL (CSL) and Amcor (AMC).

Integral Diagnostics (ASX:IDX) had a great year in 2024; its share price was up around 50% as its business recovered from the post-Covid doldrums. It has just completed a merger with Capitol Health to make it Australia’s second largest radiology provider and IML portfolio manager Marc Whittaker believes this has it well set up for its next phase of growth. In this podcast Marc discusses why Integral Diagnostics is one of his highest conviction holdings in IML’s small and mid cap funds.

Nitin Gupta, Managing Partner and Co-CIO of Flexstone, believes that every investor in private assets should have an allocation to the lower middle market as it drives both portfolio diversification and alpha. He says that this lower middle-market focus, along with Flexstone’s relationships and access, due diligence and investment process and strategy all combine to give Flexstone its enviable track record of never losing money on any of its funds, over its nearly 20-year track record. In this wide-ranging podcast he talks to Louise Watson from Natixis Investment Managers about: How he first started in investing and why he chose private markets and Flexstone (3min 12sec) Flexstone’s focus on the lower middle market and its investing ‘special sauce’ (7min 2sec) The best and worst investments in his career and what he learned from them (10min 30sec) The growth of private assets and whether there is a bubble (17min 24sec) Why Flexstone invests in everyday, ‘boring’ businesses (19min 48sec) How Flexstone adds value to the businesses it invests in (22min 50sec)  

2024 was another strong year for share markets and for IML’s small and mid cap funds. In this podcast Simon Conn, Senior Portfolio Manager, discusses how IML’s small and mid cap funds performed during the final quarter of 2024 including the performance of key stocks.

After a strong year for share markets in 2024 things ended with a whimper as the ASX 300 dropped during December. IML Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of Research Hugh Giddy discusses how IML’s funds performed during the final quarter of 2024 and looks ahead to what he thinks 2025 might bring.

China is Australia’s largest trading partner, so any significant changes in the Chinese economy can have big impacts on Australia’s economy, share markets and the wellbeing of everyday Australians. In this podcast Jason Guthrie chats to IML Portfolio Manager Daniel Moore after his return from a research trip to China. They discuss: How China’s economy is performing, including on-the-ground feedback The recent Chinese stimulus and potential future stimulus The ramifications of a second Donald Trump US Presidency The Chinese property market Chinese steel and lithium industries

Brambles is an Australian global success story and a high-conviction holding in IML’s large-cap portfolios. It has had a very successful year and is up around 35% in 2024, but is it in now fully valued, or is there more to come? In this podcast, IML Equity Analyst Josh Freiman talks Jason Guthrie through his investment thesis for IML’s Stock of the Month, Brambles, and why he forecasts compound annual earnings per share (EPS) growth of more than 10% for the next three years.