Mandate Memo - 27th March 2026
Gold falling with Coal gains ground
Fund Status:
Bal Start: $983,284
Bought: None
Sold: None
Bal End: $980,356
Cash: $554,323
Market Commentary
US Markets were down overnight along with China, Canada, UK and Japan. Energy continues to be the performer driven by rhetoric from the US and Iran. Comms, IT, Industrials and Materials were down. Gold retraced further along with Copper while oil, once again rallied. ASX futures were down on open. While POTUS claims the energy crisis will be short, CEOs and market commentators beg to differ. Historical charts will say that the oil price will go back to its previous levels in a couple of months. However, the difference this time is that critical infrastructure has been destroyed. Not damaged, destroyed. Trump has also extended his arbitrary deadline to bomb more to 6th April 8pm ET.
The market ended the day down with energy leading and technology right at the back. The mixture of names included NXT, CDA, GMD, GGP falling while SOL, WHC, IGO and PLS rose. With pressure on the oil market, other forms of energy like coal are being sought out to fill the gap by countries overexposed to gas and oil.
Portfolio Commentary
XRO announced they will be partnering with Claude to increase the implementation of new products. Their AI agent JAX (Just Asking Xero) will use Claude to power logic and reasoning using client data. While this is a positive development, the stock sold off. If the price continues to fall to mid 60’s this will be a 4 year low (from Nov 2022). Portfolio weight is already 5%, Technology is likely to continue falling. Prudent to wait for signs of support.
ZIP, LOV, and SHA all fell to no news. Both ZIP and LOV are driven by consumer demand, one on the credit side, the other more cash based. ZIP’s Quad pay with “Pay in 8” is the fastest growing sector. However, should the US economy go into recession or face slower consumerism, ZIP credit growth and bad debts may go in undesirable directions. Whereas Lovisa’s products are cheap enough to not require a line of credit. Small guilty pleasure purchases (even as gifts) are likely to be relatively stable in softer economic conditions. Both stocks are undervalued based on sell-side forecasts.
Whereas 360,JBH and MP1 rallied. Mix of tech and discretionary.
Investment Rationale
Did not trade today.
Disclaimer: This is a simulated portfolio. Content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research.