HLB Mann Judd Sydney’s Managed Discretionary Account (MDA) service has outperformed the median superannuation fund over the past 12 months by four per cent, despite having no exposure to CBA and being underweight the booming US tech giants, demonstrating the strength of a diversified, actively managed approach.

Jonathan Philpot, head of wealth management at HLB Mann Judd Sydney, says since being launched just over a year ago, the MDA has delivered strong returns to clients by maintaining a diversified position across different asset classes including listed property, global infrastructure and high yield debt.

“We have maintained a tight focus on investing with the discipline to avoid overpriced investments, and focus on long-term expected returns. As a result, we have invested in a way that may seem different to the market consensus, but which has delivered outstanding results,” Mr Philpot said.

“For example, this focus has led us to have zero exposure to CBA for the whole financial year.  This is at a time when the ASX 200 increased 14 per cent during the year and CBA contributed nearly 30 per cent of this return. Our 20-stock direct share portfolio delivered an impressive 19.4 per cent for the same period, which indicates an index approach is not required to build a good quality share portfolio.

“Likewise, we had an underweight exposure to large US equities, particularly the “Magnificent 7”. The US market performed well for the year rising 13.6 per cent and those stocks were about 50 per cent of the return. However, our global exposure was ahead of respective benchmarks and importantly we had much lower volatility when the US market went through its near 20 per cent correction in March 2025.”

HLB Mann Judd’s MDA service consists of five risk-adjusted portfolios designed to meet different client needs. Each portfolio outperformed its respective benchmark in its first year.

“Our investment changes throughout the year reflected an overall need to be more defensive when share markets are approaching being fully valued,” Mr Philpot said.

“This may seem strange after a year of 10 per cent plus returns, however with the US share market having been on a strong upward trajectory since the end of the global financial crisis and the Australian share market averaging 13.3 per cent per annum over the last five years, it makes sense that these share markets are now starting to be fully valued.”

Mr Philpot says the MDA approach offers a number of benefits to clients, including the ability to act quickly which was crucial in protecting client portfolios during periods of volatility and market overvaluation.

“We’re able to implement new investment ideas quickly and efficiently, without placing an administrative burden on our clients. It means we can respond to changing conditions in real time,” Mr Philpot said.

“While many advisers are turning to Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs) and outsourcing to asset consultants, we believe in providing something more personal. Our portfolios are not an off-the-shelf model – they are directly managed by us and tailored to our clients’ long-term goals.”