Active Small Caps: Catching up and Standing Out

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Sep 23

After another eventful reporting season, it’s worth asking: is now the time for small caps? Volatility reached a 15-year high in August as companies were rewarded or punished almost instantly on ...

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One of the best stock trading platforms in Singapore.","ogImage":"https://c1.itigergrowtha.com/portal5/static/media/og-logo.be62fbe1.png","ogUrl":"https://www.itiger.com/news/2569761410"},"companyName":"Tiger Brokers"},"pageData":{"isMobile":false,"isTiger":false,"isTTM":true,"region":"SGP","license":"TBSG","edition":"fundamental"},"isCrawlerRequest":true,"__swrFallback__":{"@#url:\"https://stock-news.skytigris.cn/v3/news\",params:#id:\"2569761410\",edition:\"fundamental\",auth_exemption:1,,,undefined,":{"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/2569761410?lang=en_US&edition=fundamental","thumbnail":"","is_english":true,"pubTime":"2025-09-23 13:28","share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","id":"2569761410","market":"us","top_or_hot":-1,"title":"Active Small Caps: Catching up and Standing Out","media":"LiveWire","content":"<div>\n<p>After another eventful reporting season, it’s worth asking: is now the time for small caps?\n Volatility reached a 15-year high in August as companies were rewarded or punished almost instantly on ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/active-small-caps-catching-up-and-standing-out\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n","source":"livewire_stock","html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; 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height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nActive Small Caps: Catching up and Standing Out\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2025-09-23 13:28 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/active-small-caps-catching-up-and-standing-out><strong>LiveWire</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>After another eventful reporting season, it’s worth asking: is now the time for small caps?\n Volatility reached a 15-year high in August as companies were rewarded or punished almost instantly on ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/active-small-caps-catching-up-and-standing-out\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","isBrief":false,"type":0,"news_type":1,"symbol":"BK7143","symbol_name":"汽车零售","start_time":0,"source_url":"https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/active-small-caps-catching-up-and-standing-out","article_id":"2569761410","we_media_id":null,"thumbnails":[],"rights":{"source":"livewire_stock","url":"https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/active-small-caps-catching-up-and-standing-out","rn_cache_url":null,"directOrigin":true},"url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=2569761410","pubTimestamp":1758605297,"columns":[],"sourceInfo":{"source_id":"livewire_stock","name":"Livewire Markets"},"weMediaInfo":null,"summary":"After another eventful reporting season, it’s worth asking: is now the time for small caps?Volatility reached a 15-year high in August as companies were rewarded or punished almost instantly on earnings revisions. Gone are the days when markets “drifted” for months post-result — stocks now reprice within days.Figure 1: Multi-year high price variation this reporting season. While we do not have a crystal ball, we believe that the market outlook is positive. The Small Ords Index is catching up to the ASX100, active small caps continue to outshine and valuations remain attractive. Below we explore the current market outlook, the drivers behind recent performance, and key lessons from reporting season.Active small caps: the long-term outperformer Over the long run, active small caps have been the highest returning asset class on the ASX. Yet the benchmark Small Ordinaries Index has historically lagged its large-cap peers on a total return basis .Past performance is not a reliable indicator","collect":0,"end_time":0,"defaultTopTitle":"livewiremarkets.com","property":[],"viewcount":null,"language":"en","relate_stocks":{"BK7143":"汽车零售","XJO.AU":"标普/澳交所 200指数","ELS.AU":"ELSIGHT LTD","NCK.AU":"NICK SCALI LTD","DUR.AU":"DURATEC LTD","BK7084":"电子设备和仪器","XAO.AU":"标普/澳交所 普通股指数","BK7055":"建筑与工程","ORE.AU":"Orocobre Ltd","GMD.AU":"Genesis Minerals Ltd","XKO.AU":"标普/澳交所 300指数","BK7128":"专卖店","BBN.AU":"BABY BUNTING GROUP LTD","ASG.AU":"AUTOSPORTS GROUP LTD","SHA.AU":"SHAPE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD","BK7107":"家庭装饰零售","BK7104":"黄金","GGP.AU":"Greatland Resources Ltd"},"translate_title":"活跃的小盘股：迎头赶上并脱颖而出","themeId":null,"isJumpTheme":false,"ttsUrl":null,"symbols_score_info":{"ASG.AU":1,"BBN.AU":1,"DUR.AU":1,"ELS.AU":1,"GGP.AU":1,"GMD.AU":1,"NCK.AU":1,"ORE.AU":1,"SHA.AU":1,"XAO.AU":0.61,"XJO.AU":0.61,"XKO.AU":0.61},"content_text":"After another eventful reporting season, it’s worth asking: is now the time for small caps?\n Volatility reached a 15-year high in August as companies were rewarded or punished almost instantly on earnings revisions. Gone are the days when markets “drifted” for months post-result — stocks now reprice within days.\nFigure 1: Multi-year high price variation this reporting season\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSource: Firetrail, FactSet, September 2025\nSo where does that leave small caps? While we do not have a crystal ball, we believe that the market outlook is positive. The Small Ords Index is catching up to the ASX100, active small caps continue to outshine and valuations remain attractive. Below we explore the current market outlook, the drivers behind recent performance, and key lessons from reporting season.\n\n\nThe\n      opportunity in Active Small Caps\n\nActive small caps: the long-term outperformer Over the long run, active small caps have been the highest returning asset class on the ASX. Yet the benchmark Small Ordinaries Index has historically lagged its large-cap peers on a total return basis (Figure 2).\nFigure 2: Active Small Caps are not only outperforming the Small Ords Index, but also the ASX200 and active large caps\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSource: Morningstar March 2025\nPast performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance\nThat gap is starting to close. Since the end of July to the close of market yesterday (22  September), the Small Ords Index is up +10.2% compared to the ASX100 which is down 0.15%.  Over this same period the Firetrail Australian Small Companies Fund is up +15.3% (gross).\nFigure 3: Small caps are closing the gap on large caps\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSource: FactSet, Firetrail, September 2025.\nPast performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance\nAttractive entry point\n Despite the rebound, valuations remain compelling. On a price-to-earnings-growth basis, the Small Ords is one of the cheapest indices globally (Figure 4). Bottom-up opportunities are elevated, and we are starting to see another wave of ECM activity that has historically contributed ~20% of excess returns for the strategy.\nFigure 4: ASX Small Ords is one of the cheapest indexes in the world on a growth-adjusted basis\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSource: Firetrail, FactSet, September 2025\n\n\n\nHow\n      Firetrail is positioned\n\nHaving looked at the asset class more broadly, it’s worth considering how we are positioned within it. While the Small Ords has only recently begun to close the gap on large caps, we’ve been able to capture a greater share of the opportunity. Over the past year, the Firetrail Australian Small Companies Fund has outperformed the Small Ords Index by 12.5% (after fees), and since inception in February 2020 has delivered 12.3% pa excess returns (after fees).\nKey drivers of outperformance Several themes have powered the recent outperformance in the fund:\n\n\nGold: Now ~16% of the Small Ords\n     Index, gold remains under-researched despite its size. We see bottom-up\n     opportunities in Genesis Minerals (ASX: GMD ), Greatland Gold (ASX: GGP ) and Orezone\n     (ASX: ORE ).\n\nDefence: Australia has\n     some great export orientated defence companies and many of these exposures\n     are up >100% CYTD. Whilst we continue to stay clear of the overhyped\n     names, key exposures include Duratec (ASX: DUR ), Elsight (ASX: ELS ), and Shape\n     (ASX: SHA ).\n\nConsumer discretionary: recent rate\n     cuts and consumer confidence have seen a resurgence in many domestic\n     cyclicals. We continue to see great alpha in this part of the market\n     including Baby Bunting (ASX: BBN ), Autosports (ASX: ASG ), and Nick Scali (ASX: NCK ).\n\nReporting season recap August’s reporting season was the most volatile in over a decade, with results priced in almost immediately. The broader market struggled — the Small Ords Index recorded –7.7% in FY25 EPS revisions (Figure 5).\nBy contrast, Firetrail’s small cap portfolio delivered +15.8% positive revisions (Figure 6), with 10 out of 12 thematic buckets contributing positively. Importantly, more than 80% of our risk remains stock-specific rather than concentrated in sectors or broad thematics. This discipline ensures performance is driven by company fundamentals, not market swings.\nFigure 5 and 6: Broader market disappointed on earnings while our holdings delivered upgrades\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSource: FactSet, Firetrail September 2025\n\nPast performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.\nThe bottom line Small caps are offering compelling value. The asset class is catching up to large caps, valuations remain attractive, and stock selection is increasingly rewarded in today’s volatile market. For active investors, that creates a fertile hunting ground. Firetrail’s small cap fund is proof of this. With the majority of risk driven by company-specific ideas, we believe the outlook for active small caps remains bright.\n\n\n\nNever miss an update\n\n    Enjoy this wire? Hit the ‘like’ button to let us know. \n    Stay up to date with my current content by \n    following me below and you’ll be notified every time I post a wire","kind":"highlight","is_publish_news":true,"is_publish_highlight":false,"is_publish_live":false,"is_publish_wemedia":null,"editions":null,"column":"","sentiment":"0","news_tag":"","news_rank":0,"symbols":[],"gpt_button":0,"need_auth":false,"code":"91000000","status":"200"}}}