Performance summary

The CC Sage Capital Absolute Return Fund returned 1.58%(after fees) in July versus the RBA Cash Rate of 0.33%.*

The CC Sage Capital Equity Plus Fund returned 2.91% (afterfees) in July, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index by 0.55%.*

Contributors and detractors to performance

During July, the key contributors to portfolio performancewere long positions in Sage Group^, Growth. Life360 (ASX: 360 +25%) continuesto execute well and deliver strong subscriber and profit growth due to itssignificant and sustainable competitive advantage in location tracking. Newinitiatives by Life360 include pet tracking and monetising non-payingsubscribers through ads which should underpin continued strong growth. Otherstrong performers were Block (ASX: XYZ +18%) which was supported by a resilientU.S. consumer and expectations of stronger demand for Cash App Money, whileResMed (ASX: RMD +8%) rallied on anticipation of a strong Q425 result. SageGroup, Yield was also a significant positive contributor to portfolioperformance driven by a short positions in Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA -4%) and Suncorp Group (ASX: SUN -3%) which were weak mainly due to ageneral rotation out of financials.

On the negative side, Sage Group, Resources was the maindetractor. A short position in Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN +33%) detracted fromperformance as it bounced harder than Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS +20%) where weremain a long position, on the back of a rally in the lithium price due to ahalt in production at a Chinese mine. Iluka (ASX: ILU +36%) was the strongestcontributor in the group, although offset somewhat by a short position in LynasRare Earths (ASX: LYC +22%) which are both key suppliers of rare earths outsideof China and rallied post an announcement by the U.S. Department of Defense ofa deal with MP Materials, a mining company, that introduced a floor price forrare earths. Another negative contributor was Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX: TLX-14%) which announced Q2 2025 revenue with strong volumes but cited pricingpressure. Sage Capital remains positive with Telix Pharmaceuticals and seesthis as a short-term dynamic leading into the launch of their new higher priced product.

Market Review

The S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index returned 2.36% inJuly.

As news continued to flow surrounding the latest U.S.tariffs and trade deals, this led to driving further market fluctuations as theNASDAQ hit fresh highs on the back of strong earnings results and positivesentiment around AI. In Australia, the RBA surprised the market by holding thecash rate at 3.85%, but an interest rate cut is expected in August followinginflation data moderating and the unemployment rate ticking up slightly.

Financials were weak with the rotation out of banks whichbegan in June continuing into July with large cap miners benefiting,underpinned by a higher iron ore price. The PE ratio of the S&P/ASX 200index at 19x and the Industrials ex Financials at 25x are still well abovehistorical averages with technology and retail particularly elevated. Themarket will be looking for robust earnings results from these sectors in theupcoming August reporting season to justify the lofty valuations. ​​​Read the fund reports foradditional commentary.

​​​Read the monthly reports for additional commentary.

• ‍CC Sage Capital Absolute Return Fund monthly report
• CC Sage Capital Equity Plus Fund monthly report

* 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.