Aussie equity manager admits to being ‘Trumped’ | Australian Markets

Reflecting the perspective of many fund managers as they closed out final week, TenCap lead portfolio manager, Jun Bei Liu has admitted to having been “Trumped”.

In her month-to-month replace on the TenCap’s Alpha Plus fund which fell 5.7% in March, Liu mirrored that the fund had come into 2025 optimistic on the equity market market, believed financial growth was set to decide up, inflation was falling and rate of interest cuts had been coming,

“February saw the first cracks emerge in this view. However, they did not appear large enough to disrupt the economic backdrop,” she wrote.

“This view was turned on its head through March (and as we write, into April), with President Trumps resolve at rewriting the global’ trade order – at whatever cost. We have quickly learned that it’s his ‘way or the highway” and collateral harm is appropriate, no matter how important.

“It did help that equity markets started the year expensive or over owned, but in and of itself, these are not reasons for the sell-off,” Liu wrote

“From here, we are observing a cage fight to the death. Either Trump gets his way, or Trump gets his way. There is no alternative other than how outcomes could be softened either via negotiation or Fed policy easing. We have little transparency on either.”

“For equity traders, we’re being compelled to sit back and Key Portfolio Statistics* watch this play out. We know equities are priced for a important financial slowdown already, and so any good news will likely be greeted with a sharp bounce however the sustainability will rely upon a significant decline in coverage uncertainty or train of the Fed put.

“On this basis, we think investors should take a balanced view on the cyclical vs defensive backdrop. At this stage, we avoid “hot spots” comparable to costly or cum earnings downgrades stocks. We suppose specializing in stocks which might be underpinned by structural growth tailwinds (comparable to healthcare / tech) and areas that benefit from price cuts is wise to experience out volatility, with valuation appeal an absolute necessity for any positions at current.”