The risks advisers are watching right now — Middle East tensions, oil prices, inflation, cost of living pressure landing on clients — are live, and they are testing portfolios. We built our mandates for exactly this kind of environment. April showed what that means in practice.
April was defined by the escalation of conflict in the Middle East. The Iran situation and the threat of disruption to oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — which carries roughly a fifth of global oil supply — drove sharp moves in energy markets and reinforced safe-haven demand for gold and real assets. That same month, US large-cap technology companies reported quarterly earnings that exceeded expectations, triggering significant share price recoveries across quality growth positions. Two distinct, powerful market themes running at the same time.
We were positioned for both.
Our gold and critical minerals exposures performed strongly as geopolitical risk pushed safe-haven demand higher. Our quality technology positions captured the earnings-driven recovery. Our income-focused mandates — Cash Plus and Short-Term — did exactly what they are built to do: earn steady, reliable income from short-duration credit and inflation-linked bonds while equity and commodity volatility moved around them. Capital stayed stable. Income kept accruing. Every mandate did its job.
This is what dynamic asset allocation actually looks like in practice. Not a static set of weights that watches conditions change. A framework that reads the environment, responds to it, and manages each mandate against its specific objective — not against a benchmark or a peer group average.
The results reflect that.
The Wealth Builder Portfolio returned 42.97% for the twelve months to 30 April 2026, against a CPI+5% objective of 9.08% for the period — ahead of target on every long-term measurement window since inception, after fees.
The Mid-Term Portfolio returned 27.99% for the year.
These results were generated in a period that included material equity market volatility, persistent inflation pressure, and a narrow, US technology-dominated market that specifically challenged diversified active managers. We are proud of that context. It makes the outcome more meaningful, not less.
The peer comparison data tells a similarly clear story. Our correlation to the real-return multi-asset peer group sits between 0.49 and 0.68. The peer group’s correlation to each other is 0.80 to 0.93. They are largely moving together. We are not. That is not an accident — it is the direct result of building portfolios around client objectives and genuine dynamic allocation rather than hugging a benchmark and hoping for the best.
We have been running this approach for over eleven years. Through the COVID shock. Through the 2022 rate cycle. Through the AI-driven concentration of the past two years. The same philosophy, the same disciplined process, the same Investment Committee governance — refined by experience, not reinvented when conditions got hard.
Advisers are right to be watching the current environment carefully. The geopolitical backdrop is not resolving quickly. Inflation is proving stickier than the optimists expected. Markets remain sensitive to policy developments in ways they were not a decade ago. The question worth asking is not whether these risks are real. They clearly are. The question is whether the portfolio infrastructure backing your clients is genuinely built to respond — or whether it is a static allocation dressed up as something more flexible.
We think that distinction matters more now than it has in a long time.
If you want to see the full picture — the performance numbers, the peer comparison, the mandate architecture and how it is designed to work in conditions exactly like these — we would welcome the conversation.
Disclaimer
This material has been prepared by Dynamic Asset Consulting Pty Limited (ABN 82 079 145 298, AFSL 502623) of Sydney NSW 2000. Any content provided in this Report is for general information purposes only. It is not personal advice and does not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation or needs of any person. Please seek specific advice before making a decision in relation to any investment. Before making any decision about any product you should obtain a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) or Investment Mandate (IM) document for further information. A copy of our PDS or IM is available from your adviser or by contacting us through our website at www.dynamicasset.com.au
