Mandate Memo - 17th March 2026
Inception Day of the Paper Mandate Fund.
Market Commentary
Materials was the standout sector today. Particularly gold names. Standout gold names were WGX, OBM and PNR. Decliners were a mix of energy (coal for example) and technology. The AI disruption theme is still affecting the market. RBA interest rates to 4.1%. Puts more pressure on valuations for tech and Healthcare. However the AUD rallied compared to other currencies. I’ve initiated a couple of names where I believe there is future upside. Pleasingly some of the names have come off their highs providing opportunity to buy. It was a mix of gold, staples, tech infra, and some contrarian consumer discretionary names as they are out of favour.
Investment Rationale
Cobram Estates (CBO) - Buy
Premier olive oil brand. US acquisition to enter market. Value accretive. Price dipped on sentiment around synergies. Long term positive view. LDD revenue growth. Near term risk on acquisition. Water prices adding to costs.
Cuscal (CCL) - Buy
ADI entity and part founder of AU NewPay system. Revenue based on volume not value. HSD grower. CCL bought competitor for 70m cash. Owns the infrastructure.
Coles (COL) - Buy
Preferred to WOW. Staples play. Discretionary spending expected to fall in future with higher inflation and rates. COL has stronger branding and online offering. Deals with DoorDash and UberEats in affluent areas. 1H26 sales growth (3.9%), higher than WOW. Trading on lower multiple.
JB Hifi (JBH) - Buy
Contrarian consumer discretionary play. Market priced in lower spend but JBH beat expectations for the half, 7% growth. 2H expected to be better. White goods business slow but robust. Tech business helped by AI hardware. History of returning capital.
Lovisa (LOV) - Buy
New stores in UK (Jewells), $500k rev per store average. 82% Gross Margins. Earnings beat on Rev growth. Network effect and inventory turnover speed is the moat.
Megaport (MP1) - Buy
Data Centre (DC) and AI beneficiary. Pipes processing power to clients from DC. Infra critical business TP opportunistic buy. P/S 5x. Recently upgraded FY26 revenue guidance to $302m–$317m
Ora Banda Mining (OBM) - Buy
Gold play. Recently made a 120k tonne deal. Increase in Round Damn estimate by 1000%. Adding $73m exploration budget catalyst for future upgrades
Xero (XRO) - Buy
Sticky accounting software. 80% margins. Has a large back book of customers on old pricing. Melio acqusition enabling future growth in US. B2B payments.