MLC Real Return Moderate
Features
Information
Investment minimums
Pricing
Investment objective
The portfolio aims to deliver a return of 3.5% above inflation (after management costs), subject to limiting the risk of negative returns over 5-year periods.
Investment strategy
Aiming for a particular return can help investors plan their future with more confidence. The MLC Inflation Plus portfolios don't rely just on the performance of markets to deliver returns. Instead, they're actively managed to aim for the above-inflation returns investors need, while limiting the risk of negative returns. Investing flexibly in a wide range of assets and strategies gives us many sources of return and ways to manage risk. Our portfolios also benefit from the insights of specialist investment managers from all over the world.
Investor profile
The MLC Inflation Plus portfolios are designed for investors who:
- you’re aiming to achieve a return above inflation but, more importantly, are concerned about losing money over a 5 year period
- you understand the return achieved by the Trust may be significantly higher or lower than its objective
- you want our investment experts to flexibly adjust the portfolio's asset allocation in accordance with their changing view of potential opportunities and risks in investment markets
- you want to manage investment risk by diversifying across asset classes and strategies, and
- you understand you may receive fluctuating levels of income.
Research house ratings
Rating
Meet the manager(s)
Our impressive investment capabilities are driven by our investment team and structure. Our unified team has had a long association with creating and managing multi-manager portfolios for investors and draws on the very best of our individual corporate heritages, honed over multiple investment cycles. We have created an investment capability of significant depth and breadth in the industry – leveraging a powerful common engine room working for the benefit of our clients. Using our market-leading investment approach, we structure our portfolios to deliver more reliable returns across many potential market environments.
Cumulative performance
| 3 months | 6 months | Year to date | 1 year | 3 years pa | 5 years pa | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund | 1.11% | 2.35% | 1.41% | 7.88% | 8.10% | 6.47% | |
| FE Sector | 1.61% | 3.41% | 1.35% | 6.80% | 6.74% | 5.04% | |
| Benchmark | 1.47% | 3.70% | - | 7.25% | 6.98% | 7.92% |
Calendar Performance
| 31/12/2025 | 31/12/2024 | 31/12/2023 | 31/12/2022 | 31/12/2021 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund | 7.78% | 8.22% | 8.75% | -1.53% | 7.66% | |
| FE Sector | 6.89% | 7.02% | 6.91% | -4.57% | 8.76% | |
| Benchmark | 7.25% | 6.02% | 7.67% | 11.62% | 7.10% |
Asset allocation as at 28/2/2026
| Australian shares | 11.81% | |
| Global Shares | 19.34% | |
| Infrastructure | 4.89% | |
| Australian fixed interest | 14.34% | |
| Global fixed interest | 27.05% | |
| Cash and short-term securities | 4.53% | |
| Alternative - growth | 13.53% | |
| Alternative - defensive | 4.51% |
Asset allocation range
| Asset class | Asset range |
|---|---|
| Cash | 0-40% |
| Fixed Income | 5-60% |
| Alternatives | 0-55% |
| Australian Shares | 0-35% |
| Global Shares | 5-60% |
| Property | 0-20% |
| Infrastructure | 0-20% |
Top holdings - Australian shares as at 28/2/2026
| BHP Group Limited | 0.66% |
| Macquarie Group Limited | 0.47% |
| CSL Limited | 0.44% |
| Rio Tinto Limited | 0.28% |
| Transurban Group Ltd. | 0.28% |
| Qube Holdings Limited | 0.21% |
| Santos Limited | 0.20% |
| Scentre Group Limited | 0.19% |
| Ansell Limited | 0.18% |
| SGH Limited | 0.17% |
Top holdings - International shares as at 28/2/2026
| Daiwa Asset iFreeETF TOPIX (Yearly Dividend Type) (1305) | 2.19% |
| Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 | 0.98% |
| iShares Russell 2000 ETF (US) | 0.97% |
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited | 0.78% |
| Microsoft Corporation | 0.62% |
| ASML Holding NV | 0.55% |
| Sprott Uranium Miners ETF | 0.53% |
| ResMed Inc. | 0.48% |
| AIA Group Limited | 0.46% |
| Amazon.com, Inc. | 0.44% |
Portfolio highlights
Key contributors to performance for the quarter ended 31 December 2025 were:
- Solid returns in global shares (+1.7%).
- The exposure to insurance-related investments (+3.8%) and opportunistic capital solutions (+4.2%) generated strong returns.
- Exposure to short-maturity bonds and corporate bonds contributed positively to performance. The short maturity strategy returned +0.8% and extended credit strategy returned +1.4%.
- Weak returns and performance from some of the underlying managers in Australian shares (-1.2%).
Detractor from performance:
Note: Returns for the asset classes above are before fees and tax.
Performance relative to investment objective:
The portfolio’s objective is to deliver a return of 3.5% pa above inflation (after management costs) subject to limiting the risk of negative returns over 5 year periods. Generating returns above inflation requires the portfolio to invest at least partly in risk assets such as shares. As a result, there will be times when the portfolio doesn’t deliver its return objective, and the portfolio may fall in value. However, we aim for the portfolio to have less than a 15% chance of a negative return over a 5 year period. To control the risk of negative returns we flexibly adjust the portfolio’s asset allocation, investing in a combination of assets that provide an attractive potential return for the risk taken.
Over the 5 years to 31 December 2025 the portfolio has underperformed its objective by -1.7% pa due to our positioning to protect the portfolio from negative returns.