How your portfolio performed
October 2025
The flagship Cornerstone Balanced Growth portfolio – which is diversified across assets to optimise returns and minimise the risk of loss – rose by 4.5%1 in the September quarter as rate cuts, geopolitics and a rush on gold pushed and pulled markets in many directions.
The positions that helped most in this market environment included:
Global shares: Some profits from European shares and emerging markets were used to slightly increase the portfolio’s exposure to US shares, a decision that paid off as the US S&P 500 index reached record highs during the quarter.
Australian shares: Cornerstone’s parcel of 30 direct Australian shares outperformed the S&P/ASX 100 index over the quarter. Miners were the standout performers and an overweight position in personal protection equipment provider Ansell delivered after it produced a solid profit and reached a six-month share price high.
The decision to hold no exposure to Telix Pharmaceuticals also paid off as its share price fell 40.34%2 due to poor financial performance and the fact it had to resubmit a new drug application to the US Food and Drug Administration.
Likewise, the decision not to hold building materials manufacturer James Hardie in Cornerstone’s direct shareholdings proved sensible – the company’s share price dropped by 33%3 after its June quarter profit was 20%4 below market expectations.
These decisions helped offset the fall in the value of our holding in biopharmaceutical firm CSL after its share price fell 17%5 due to its underwhelming annual profit.
Gold: Cornerstone investors benefited in several ways from a bull run in gold that pushed the precious metal to record highs.
Firstly, our parcel of direct Australian shares has overweight positions in Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources – two gold miners that both recorded double digit share price gains as demand for gold soared in the September quarter.
Secondly, two specialist emerging market managers in our portfolios, Redwheel and Oaktree Capital, made the most of gold’s spike through their shareholdings in South African gold mines.
And, finally, our direct holdings of physical gold and commodities futures also helped boost the returns to investors in our portfolios as the daily spot price of gold rose 17%6 to US$3858 in the quarter.
Looking to the next quarter
The outlook for markets depends to a large extent on the health of the global economy and the ongoing impact of tariffs introduced by the Trump administration.
The risk of a US recession continues to fall as the economy continues to register slow growth off the back of high-end consumer spending and AI spending by big business. Another rate cut from the Federal Reserve would provide additional support to struggling sectors and further boost the resilience of the world’s biggest economy.
Other major economies like Japan and Europe also appear in decent shape, despite issues like political uncertainty.
Australia’s economy is more fragile than the US but remains resilient with early signs of green shoots on the back of the interest rate cut in August.
In this environment, US shares may perform better than local shares, but Australian bonds appear more attractive than others. The Cornerstone portfolios were also adjusted late in the quarter to make small additional investments in emerging market debt and global listed infrastructure – given the solid performance of both asset classes so far this year.
1 Russell Investments
2 Bloomberg
3 Morningstar
4 https://ir.jameshardie.com.au
5 Morningstar
6 Live Gold Price Australia | ABC Bullion
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Cornerstone Financial Group Pty Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Invest Blue Pty Ltd , is an authorised representative and credit representative of Akumin Financial Planning Pty Limited ABN 89 051 208 327 Australian Financial Services Licence and Australian Credit Licence No. 232706. This website contains factual information only about the Cornerstone Portfolios. The information provided is not intended to imply any recommendation or opinion about a financial product. This website has not been prepared having regard to any retail investor’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making an investment decision, an investor should also consider the latest disclosure document in respect of the Cornerstone Managed Portfolio (‘‘Disclosure Document’’) and / or seek financial advice in deciding whether to make or continue to hold, an investment in the Cornerstone Managed Portfolio. The Disclosure Document can be obtained by contacting a financial adviser or the platform operator(s) offering the Cornerstone Managed Portfolio.
Performance is net of management fees for both the Managed Portfolio and the underlying managers' fees and costs. It does not take into account any third-party platform fees charged to individual investors or transaction costs (including buy/sell spreads and brokerage fees). It assumes income is reinvested without any tax deduction. It is for RIM’s preferred model portfolio of holdings. A holding in the preferred model portfolio may be restricted or replaced with another similar asset in the Managed Portfolio on different platforms if the preferred holding is not available. Different platforms may also charge different management fees for the Managed Portfolio. This can result in variances in performance of the Managed Portfolio between platforms. An individual investor’s performance will differ, according to the investor’s actual exposures to Managed Portfolio holdings and other factors (including transaction timing, transaction costs, actual underlying manager fees and costs and whether income is paid in cash). Platforms will have their own methodology for calculating performance, at both a platform level and an individual investor level. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Russell Investment Management Ltd ABN 53 068 338 974, AFS Licence 247185 (RIM) the investment consultant to Invest Blue Pty Ltd for the Cornerstone Retirement Solution and Cornerstone Managed Portfolios. RIM is also the investment adviser to the issuers of the Cornerstone Managed Portfolios.