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Insights

Performance and market insights - April 2025

Market Insight
May 13, 2025

Performance summary

The CC Sage Capital Absolute Return Fund returned -0.76%* in March, underperforming the RBA Cash Rate which returned 0.35%.

The CC Sage Capital Equity Plus Fund returned -3.85%* in March, underperforming the S&P/ASX 200 benchmark by -0.46%, which returned -3.39%.

April was a wild month for markets globally and a tough month for the Sage Capital funds. Even though the market only finished down slightly, there was significant underperformance of the Sage Groups^ Cyclicals and Resources relative to Defensives, REITs and Gold. Additionally, there was significant cross-sectional dispersion amongst groups with investor positioning having a bigger impact on performance than fundamental economic exposure.

Contributors and detractors to performance

A significant portion of underperformance was attributable to long positions in the Global Cyclical Sage Group, with key detractors including Amcor (ASX: AMC, -5%), Worley (ASX: WOR, -14%), and Orica (ASX: ORI, -4%), alongside a short position in ALS Limited (ASX: ALQ, +12%), which rallied following a positive trading update. Short positions in Domestic Cyclicals also detracted from performance, most notably JB Hi-Fi (ASX: JBH, +11%), which continued to defy expectations, driven largely by market positioning, and Eagers Automotive (ASX: APE, +23%).

The Yield group weighed on performance as the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA, +10%) benefitted from its position as the largest index weight, attracting flows into Australia viewed as a relative safe haven.

On the positive side, the REITs Sage Group was the strongest contributor, supported by a short position in Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC, -10%), following news of a potential $100 million asset impairment, and a long position in Goodman Group (ASX: GMG, +5%), which rebounded after initial concerns around data centre demand subsided.

​​​Read the monthly reports for additional commentary.

* Past performance is not indicative of future performance. ^ Sage Capital uses a custom grouping system for long short positions (Defensives, Domestic Cyclicals, Global Cyclicals, Gold, Growth, REITs, Resources and Yield). With a focus on the principal macro earnings drivers for each stock, Sage Groups allow for comparisons to GICS for selecting stocks within a sector.
This information is for professional and wholesale investors only and has been prepared by Sage Capital Pty Ltd ACN 632 839 877 AR No. 001276472 (‘Sage Capital’). Channel Investment Management Limited ACN 163 234 240 AFSL 439007 (‘CIML’) is the responsible entity and issuer of units in the CC Sage Capital Equity Plus Fund ARSN 634 148 913 and the CC Sage Capital Absolute Return Fund ARSN 634 149 287 (collectively ‘the Funds’).

Channel Capital Pty Ltd ACN 162 591 568 AR No. 001274413 (‘Channel’) provides investment infrastructure services for Sage Capital and is the holding company of CIML. None of Sage Capital, Channel, CIML or their respective employees or officers (collectively, ‘the Beneficiaries’) make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of this information and nothing contained in this information is or shall be relied upon as a promise or representation, whether as to the past or the future. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. All investments contain risk. This information should not be considered advice or a recommendation to investors or potential investors in relation to holding, purchasing or selling units in the Funds and has been prepared without take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. It is intended solely for wholesale clients (including sophisticated investors) as defined under sections 761G and 761GA of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). Before acting on any information you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to these matters, any relevant offer document, and in particular, you should seek independent financial advice.

For further information and before investing, please read the Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination which are available from www.channelcapital.com.au/funds
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