There’s always a bull market somewhere

While the headlines are dominated by RBA rate hikes, inflation, and federal budget uncertainty, a massive opportunity is hiding in plain sight. While the ASX200 has struggled for momentum, the S&P Emerging Companies Index (XEC) has quietly outperformed, climbing 35% over the past year. In this episode of The Rules of Investing, we sit down with Joel Fleming, Portfolio Manager of the UBS Micro Cap Fund. Joel has been navigating the micro-cap space since 2014, delivering an impressive 14% p.a. return by finding the "future leaders" of the market before they hit the mainstream. In this video, we discuss why the XEC offers better sector variety than the top-heavy ASX200 and how to find value where the big institutional players aren't looking. Summary article: https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/there-s-always-a-bull-market-somewhere-in-small-and-micro-caps Time codes 0:00 - Introduction 0:50 - What exactly is a microcap stock? 4:25 - Behind the surprisingly strong performance of microcaps 7:12 - Cyclical versus structural growth stories 10:16 - The reality of microcap investing 13:25 - GR Engineering (ASX:GNG) 18:17 - Metals X (ASX:MLS) 20:45 - ARTRYA (ASX:AYA) 23:05 - Managing risks and downside protection 26:55 - Uncovering the next opportunity 30:00 - What happens when investors meet management and experts? 34:27 - A lesson from a big win or loss 35:48 - What investors are getting wrong 36:30 - The long term thesis for Energy One (ASX:EOL)