MLC Real Return Assertive
Features
Information
Investment minimums
Pricing
Investment objective
The portfolio aims to deliver a return of 4.5% above inflation (after management costs), subject to limiting the risk of negative returns over 7-year periods.
Investment strategy
The portfolio invests significantly in assets that cannot easily be sold. And it may be significantly geared (it is allowed to invest up to $1,000 for every $1,000 you invest). The combination of these facts means that from time to time may suspend your ability to put money into, or take money out of the portfolio.
Investor profile
The MLC Inflation Plus portfolios are designed for investors who:
- you are 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 | -0.81% | -0.52% | 0.08% | 9.34% | 7.98% | 6.51% | |
| FE Sector | 0.35% | 1.22% | 1.00% | 6.83% | 5.98% | 4.33% | |
| Benchmark | 2.48% | 4.24% | 2.48% | 8.78% | 8.02% | 9.13% |
Calendar Performance
| 31/12/2025 | 31/12/2024 | 31/12/2023 | 31/12/2022 | 31/12/2021 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund | 8.93% | 10.66% | 9.19% | -3.67% | 12.64% | |
| FE Sector | 6.89% | 7.02% | 6.91% | -4.57% | 8.76% | |
| Benchmark | 8.29% | 7.05% | 8.72% | 12.70% | 8.13% |
Asset allocation as at 30/4/2026
| Australian shares | 17.43% | |
| Global Shares | 30.40% | |
| Infrastructure | 2.30% | |
| Australian fixed interest | 4.87% | |
| Global fixed interest | 21.44% | |
| Cash and short-term securities | 3.08% | |
| Alternative - growth | 15.36% | |
| Alternative - defensive | 5.12% |
Asset allocation range
| Asset class | Asset range |
|---|---|
| Cash | 0-30% |
| Fixed Income | 0-50% |
| Alternatives | 0-50% |
| Australian Shares | 0-40% |
| Global Shares | 10-80% |
| Property | 0-20% |
| Infrastructure | 0-20% |
| Private Equity | 0-20% |
Top holdings - Australian shares as at 30/4/2026
| BHP Group Limited | 1.03% |
| Macquarie Group Limited | 0.79% |
| CSL Limited | 0.50% |
| Rio Tinto Limited | 0.43% |
| Qube Holdings Limited | 0.31% |
| Santos Limited | 0.31% |
| Scentre Group Limited | 0.28% |
| Telstra Group Limited | 0.27% |
| Coles Group Limited | 0.27% |
| NEXTDC Limited | 0.26% |
Top holdings - International shares as at 30/4/2026
| iFreeETF TOPIX (Yearly Dividend Type) | 2.88% |
| State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | 1.97% |
| iShares Russell 2000 ETF (US) | 1.50% |
| Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 | 1.45% |
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited | 1.28% |
| SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust | 1.08% |
| Microsoft Corporation | 1.02% |
| Amazon.com, Inc. | 1.00% |
| iShares North American Tech-Software ETF | 0.94% |
| ASML Holding NV | 0.84% |
Portfolio highlights
For the quarter ended 31 March 2026 were:
- Exceptionally strong returns in listed infrastructure (+8.7%).
- The exposure to insurance-related investments (+3.0%) generated strong returns.
- Exposure to listed property and short-maturity bonds contributed positively to performance. The listed property strategy returned +1.0% and the short maturity strategy returned +0.6%.
Detractors from performance
Weak returns in Australian shares (-5.1%) and global shares (-7.5%).
Note: Returns for the asset classes above are before fees and tax.)
Performance relative to benchmark
The portfolio’s objective is to deliver a return of 4.5% pa above inflation (after management costs), subject to limiting the risk of negative returns over 7 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 7 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 7 years to 31 March 2026 the portfolio has underperformed its objective by -2.2% pa due to our positioning to protect the portfolio from negative returns.