06 Feb 2026
Click here for a PDF of this newsletter The broader market posted solid gains overall in January 2026, with the S&P/ASX All Ord Accumulation Index rising 1.6% for the month, its best monthly gain since August 2025. Similar to trading in December 2025, commodity-linked stocks powered much of the upside as gold, copper and base metals prices surged, driving the materials and energy sectors. BHP (BHP +11%), Woodside Energy (WPL +8%) Evolution Mining (EVL +16%) and South32 (S32 +29%) were some on the major contributors. Conversely, technology stocks continued to underperform amid broader global rotation away from high-valuation names, and news on inflation and interest-rate expectations weighed on financials and banks. Pro Medicus (PME -16%), Wisetech Global (WTC -15%), Xero (XRO -17%), Life360 (360 -18%) and ZIP Co (ZIP -19%) were among the hardest tech names hit, whilst Commonwealth Bank (CBA -7%) materially underperformer the other domestic banks. This sectoral divergence was born out in the performance of other indices with the S&P/ASX All Industrial Index falling 1.1% and the S&P/ASX All Small Industrials Index closing down 2.0%. Given the headwinds in our space, the Cyan C3G Fund performed commendably with a small rise of 0.5%. Highlighting what appears to be the speculative nature of commodity movements, already in February we’ve see a 25% collapse in the silver price and similarly volatile moves in gold, although this metal has seen a far better recovery. Gold, Silver Price (USD) The AUD/USD rose to its highest level in three years following on from the strength in commodities and expectations of the RBA interest rate hike (25bp to 3.85%) that we saw just a few days ago.
RBA Cash Rates Click here for a PDF of this newsletter Month in Review The most positive news in the month came from hospital software provider Alcidion (ALC +14%) which was selected as the preferred supplier for a new Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UHSx) in the UK. The total contract value is still to be negotiated but is expected to exceed A$35 million over a minimum seven-year term, making it one of the company’s largest contract wins. The UHSx is a major healthcare provider, operating seven hospitals and employing nearly 20,000 staff and thus this announcement is a major milestone and further strengthens ALC’s position in the large UK healthcare IT market. Again we would re-iterate, with a market cap under $150m, ALC looks remarkably undervalued compared with other IT providers in the global health space. Engineering services firm Verbrec (VBC +9%) pushed higher again after investors further digested, and appreciated, its recent acquisition of Alliance Automation and new contract wins exceeding $20m. The Fund had a couple of other wins in small positions in marketing IT consultancy XPON (XPN +35%) and AI enabled video technology company ION Video (ION +95%). ION has embarked on a recent restructure, including a new board and is showcasing their technology on Monday 9th February (virtual invite here) which may have contributed somewhat to the month’s price spike. As discussed earlier, there was some overwhelming negative sentiment in the market which impacted a number of our positions including: Raiz Invest (RZI -19%) which posted lower than expected customer growth numbers in the December quarter (albeit this is a seasonally weak period), although net fund inflows have remained robust.
Beforepay (B4P -20%) which reported reasonable quarterly numbers given the slower seasonal December quarter, but the stock did give up ground in line with many other names in the fintech sector.
Live broadcast subtitling company, AI-Media (AIM -20%) was another that pulled back on no specific company news. Indeed the last ASX releases of note have announced director buying. Media There were a number of media pieces done during the month as listed on our website and Linkedin. Outlook The good news is that Cyan C3G Fund has no exposure to commodity stocks or these high-flying (with sky-high valuations) growth stocks. Clearly the volatility is something to keep a close eye on and will have some impact on certain sectors of the market as seen by individual stock movements within our Fund throughout February. But we expect our diversified exposures across industry sectors will help smooth overall swings. With reporting season upon us (results are typically released the second half of February) we expect the market to focus further on fundamental company performance which would Please stay in touch with our intra-month commentary via Linkedin or feel free to contact us at any time. Dean Fergie and Graeme Carson Cyan Investment Management AFSL No. 453209 An investment in the Cyan C3G Fund can be made by clicking here |
