Fidelity Australian Equities Fund

Fidelity Australian Equities Fund
Fund fact sheet Invest now

About this fund

A core holding which invests in a diversified selection of around 30 - 50 Australian companies.

Uses a bottom-up stock-selection approach that focuses on undiscovered earnings potential, value and growth.

Conducts regular company, factory and competitor visits to assess business strength, earnings quality and long-term growth outlook.

Why this fund

The same highly experienced portfolio manager since 2003, backed by a highly experienced team.

A diversified portfolio with a consistent, rigorous investment approach.

Strong fund ratings from professional research houses.

Meet Paul Taylor

Portfolio Manager of the Fidelity Australian Equities Fund, Paul Taylor describes his love of markets, investments and his overarching goal to provide strong long-term returns to clients to help meet their investment goals.

Key facts

Unit prices (at 16/04/25)
Buy 34.933 / Sell 34.8284
Unit price history
Buy/sell spread
0.15%/0.15%

At a glance

Objective
To achieve returns in excess of the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index over the medium to long term.
Benchmark
S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index
Management costs1
0.85% p.a.
Fund size (at 16/04/25)
A$4,199.63M
Inception date
30 June 2003
Distribution frequency
Quarterly
Currency
Australian dollar

Unique identifiers

APIR code
FID0008AU
ARSN code
103420088
mFund code
FIL08

Fund manager

Paul Taylor
Australia

Latest fund update

EDITED TRANSCRIPT

Over the quarter, the market was slightly down, so almost 3% down. The reporting season in February, probably a few more disappointments than beats. Most of those disappointments really were related to, maybe not quite good cost control by companies or those companies that didn't perform well, really cost control was one of the major issues, almost 3% down for the quarter.

The Fund actually outperformed the market, which was a great result. That was really driven from the February reporting season. We actually had some great, a lot of our investments did quite well. But what was really pleasing to see was we actually started to see a lot of differentiation within sectors, which means we're coming back. We're moving away from the macro.

We're moving towards a much more micro bottom up, stock movements. In the banks, the Commonwealth Bank had a great result, performed well. NAB, bad result performed poorly.

The other two somewhere in between. In the insurance companies, Suncorp had a great result, performed well. IAG, a poor result, mainly through cost control and performed badly. QBE somewhere in the middle.

Supermarkets. Coles great result. Woolworths, weaker result, really got to do with cost control as well. So, what we're seeing is within sectors you’re actually now starting to get differentiation and the fund was more weighted to some of those, better performing stocks within those sectors.

Outlook is for volatility. We did see a lot of volatility in February. Liquidity isn't fantastic at the moment. So, when a stock did well it shot up. When a stock did poorly it really got hit hard, maybe a little bit too much both ways. But I think that volatility is going to stay with us for a while. As we've moved into February, we're seeing some of the consequences of the trade war or trade barriers, tariffs, as well as maybe the consequences of what those tariffs can cause to the economy.

So now there's an increased chance of recession in the U.S. and maybe less in Australia, but still the probability has increased which generally causes a lot more volatility.

For the corporates themselves, actually balance sheets are pretty strong. So, I think most companies are in a good position. If we do, if the economy does worsen. I invest over a 5-to-7-year horizon. So, while there's a lot of noise at the moment, a lot of volatility at the moment, if you can look through that, and I think that's what creates the long-term opportunities, if you can look through that to the 5-to-7-year view, I think you are actually in a much more positive light.

Join Portfolio Manager Paul Taylor as he provides an update on Aussie markets, looks at the main contributors and detractors to performance and how positioning for the portfolio is currently given the market outlook.

Performance2

See for yourself how the fund has performed since inception. The chart below represents the value now of $10,000 invested in the Fidelity Australian Equities Fund in June 2003 compared with $10,000 invested in the S&P/ ASX 200 Accumulation Index.

Chart as at: 31 March 2025

Total net returns represent past performance only. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Returns of the Fund can be volatile and in some periods may be negative. The return of capital is not guaranteed. Benchmark: S&P ASX 200 Accumulation Index.

Net returns as at 31 March 2025

Timeframe 1 yr
%
3 yr
% pa
5 yr
% pa
7 yr
% pa
10 yr
% pa
15 yr
% pa
20 yr
% pa
Since inception
(30/06/03) % pa
Fund 0.95 2.55 12.24 8.15 6.78 7.97 9.23 10.58
Benchmark 2.84 5.62 13.24 8.64 7.15 7.63 7.74 8.98
Active return -1.89 -3.07 -1.00 -0.49 -0.37 0.34 1.49 1.60

Total net returns represent past performance only. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Returns of the Fund can be volatile and in some periods may be negative. The return of capital is not guaranteed. Benchmark: S&P ASX 200 Accumulation Index.

Net as at 31 March 2025

1 yr
%
3 yr
% pa
5 yr
% pa
7 yr
% pa
10 yr
% pa
15 yr
% pa
20 yr
% pa
Since inception
(30/06/03) % pa
Total return 0.95 2.55 12.24 8.15 6.78 7.97 9.23 10.58
Growth -6.47 -5.19 4.69 1.95 1.55 3.27 4.37 5.79
Income 7.42 7.74 7.55 6.20 5.23 4.70 4.86 4.80

Growth return is the unit price movement on exit to exit basis. Income is expressed as Total Return less growth component.

Total net returns represent past performance only. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Returns of the Fund can be volatile and in some periods may be negative. The return of capital is not guaranteed. Benchmark: S&P ASX 200 Accumulation Index.

DistributionDistribution (CPU)Reinvestment price
31-Mar-253.0547$35.2350

CPU = cents per unit. The above cash CPU excludes imputation credits and foreign income tax offsets which are non-cash components and are reported in the end of year tax statement. If the Distribution CPU column is 0.0000 it means that nothing was distributed. 

Sectors and holdings

As at 31 March 2025

As at 31 March 2025

% total net assets
COMMONWEALTH BANK AUSTRALIA 13.7%
BHP GROUP LTD 8.7%
EVOLUTION MINING LTD 6.1%
COLES GROUP LTD 6.0%
SUNCORP GROUP LTD 5.8%
MACQUARIE GROUP LTD 5.6%
GOODMAN GROUP 4.5%
SEEK LTD 4.4%
CSL LTD 4.2%
RIO TINTO LTD 4.2%

As at 31 March 2025

Fund % Benchmark % Relative %
EVOLUTION MINING LTD 6.1 0.6 5.5
COLES GROUP LTD 6.0 1.1 4.9
SUNCORP GROUP LTD 5.8 0.9 4.9
SEEK LTD 4.4 0.3 4.1
COMMONWEALTH BANK AUSTRALIA 13.7 10.7 3.0

As at 31 March 2025

Fund % Benchmark % Relative %
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LTD 0.0 4.4 -4.4
WESFARMERS LTD 0.0 3.5 -3.5
TELSTRA GROUP LTD 0.0 2.1 -2.1
WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LTD 0.0 1.9 -1.9
TRANSURBAN GROUP 0.0 1.8 -1.8

Fund ratings3

Organisation Rating / Recommendation
Lonsec
Recommended4
The Lonsec report is only available to financial advisers, please contact us for a copy
Morningstar Gold5
Zenith Recommended6

This Fund is subject to the risk of stock market fluctuations. Investors accessing the Fund through a master trust or wrap account will also bear any fees charged by the operator of such master trust or wrap account. Any apparent discrepancies in the numbers are due to rounding.

1Management costs and buy/sell spread are current as at the date of publication of this website. These fees may be subject to change in the future.

2Total returns (net) have been calculated using exit prices and take into account the applicable buy/sell spread and are net of Fidelity’s management costs, transactional and operational costs and assumes reinvestment of distributions. No allowance has been made for tax. Returns of more than one year are annualised. The return of capital is not guaranteed. 

3You should refer to respective research houses (and their disclaimers below) to obtain further information about the meaning of the rating and the rating scale. Ratings are only one factor to be taken into account when deciding whether to invest. Ratings are subject to change without notice and may not be regularly updated. Ratings are current as at date (s) stated below. Fidelity pays a fee to some research houses for rating our funds.

4The Lonsec Rating (assigned October 2024) presented in this document is published by Lonsec Research Pty Ltd ABN 11 151 658 561 AFSL 421 445. The Rating is limited to "General Advice" (as defined in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)) and based solely on consideration of the investment merits of the financial product(s). Past performance information is for illustrative purposes only and is not indicative of future performance. It is not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold Fidelity International product(s), and you should seek independent financial advice before investing in this product(s). The Rating is subject to change without notice and Lonsec assumes no obligation to update the relevant document(s) following publication. Lonsec receives a fee from the Fund Manager for researching the product(s) using comprehensive and objective criteria.

5© 2024 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither Morningstar, its affiliates, nor the content providers guarantee the data or content contained herein to be accurate, complete or timely nor will they have any liability for its use or distribution. Any general advice or ‘class service’ have been prepared by Morningstar Australasia Pty Ltd (ABN: 95 090 665 544, AFSL: 240892) and/or Morningstar Research Ltd, subsidiaries of Morningstar, Inc, without reference to your objectives, financial situation or needs. Refer to our Financial Services Guide (FSG) for more information at www.morningstar.com.au/s/fsg.pdf. You should consider the advice in light of these matters and if applicable, the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (Australian products) or Investment Statement (New Zealand products) before making any decision to invest. Our publications, ratings and products should be viewed as an additional investment resource, not as your sole source of information. Past performance does not necessarily indicate a financial product’s future performance. To obtain advice tailored to your situation, contact a professional financial adviser. Some material is copyright and published under licence from ASX Operations Pty Ltd ACN 004 523 782 ("ASXO"). Rating assigned 21 November 2024.

6The Zenith Investment Partners (“Zenith”) Australian Financial Services License No. 226872 rating (assigned June 2024) referred to in this document is limited to “General Advice” (as defined by the Corporations Act 2001) for Wholesale clients only. This advice has been prepared without taking into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any individual. It is not a specific recommendation to purchase, sell or hold the relevant product(s). Investors should seek independent financial advice before making an investment decision and should consider the appropriateness of this advice in light of their own objectives, financial situation and needs. Investors should obtain a copy of, and consider the PDS or offer document before making any decision and refer to the full Zenith Product Assessment available on the Zenith website. Zenith usually charges the product issuer, fund manager or a related party to conduct Product Assessments. Full details regarding Zenith’s methodology, ratings definitions and regulatory compliance are available on our Product Assessment’s and at http://www.zenithpartners.com.au/RegulatoryGuidelines

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