Update from the PMs – June 2025

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– Andrew Macken & Chris Demasi

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Markets continue to face upheaval from uncertainty around US tariffs and trade deals. That uncertainty resulted in global equities falling sharply in March and April but then bouncing back in May.

Amidst this short-term volatility, we continue to believe the optimal path forward for investors is to maintain a long-term perspective and remain focused on businesses that have strong and strengthening competitive advantages, and that are laying the groundwork for significant and reliable growth over the next decade.

This month in ‘Alternate Asset Managers Eye the Retirement Prize’, Amit discusses a quiet revolution that is now underway: the “democratization” of alternative assets. He explores how likely deregulation under the Trump administration will unlock access to US$9 trillion in assets invested under 401(k) accounts – tax-efficient US retirement accounts similar to Australian superannuation accounts. Success in the retail channel will depend on brand recognition and distribution capabilities, and this plays to the strengths of powerful established brands, particularly Blackstone and KKR.

Meanwhile in ‘Revolutionary ‘coding agents’ are creating even more upside for big tech’, Andy provides a real-life case study into just how powerful today’s AI-enabled ‘coding agents’ (which automate software development) have become, and what this could mean for investor portfolios. Remember, the world’s most tech-literate companies – those who are already deploying and exploiting the benefits of coding agents – spend hundreds of billions of dollars per year on R&D. If they can continue to use coding agents to make each dollar go further, they could unlock enormous value for shareholders. 

In this month’s Spotlight Series podcast, Andy interviews Amit and Lachlan who attended the Bernstein ‘Strategic Decisions’ conference in New York last week. They discuss some of the highlights, including restaurants, technology, AI, and private credit.

 

Sincerely,

Andrew Macken & Chris Demasi

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Podcast: Join the Montaka Global Investments team on Spotify as we share real-time examples and investing tips that govern our stockpicks. Click below to listen. Alternatively, click on this link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/montaka

 

 

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