August 2026 Results – The Wrap

Feature Stories | 5:44 PM

Final stats, notes and observations from a reporting season in August that has failed to turn the tide for Australian investors.

By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck, Editor

The Australian share market is broken.

Maybe it is only general sentiment. Maybe what we are witnessing is a transformational phase.

Whatever the narrative, the causes or the eventual outcome, if there's one thing the recent August results season has shown it is that old rules and dynamics no longer apply.

Probably the most obvious expression of our changing market place is through share price action. Up until not that long ago, market analysis would detect a direct and enduring correlation between a great profit result and subsequent price action.

In various cases, and under the right circumstances, the halo received during results season would stick for up to three months. In August, many share price gains haven't even lasted for three consecutive days.

So is this the result of hedge funds arriving in full force in Australia, of AI agents increasingly being deployed, of the ETF industry crowding out active managers, of the uncertainty surrounding the proposed changes to capital gains tax, of ultra-low sentiment that also sees funds being redirected offshore, or maybe something else -- how about all of those factors combined?

I honestly don't know. I am invested in the same share market as everybody who invests in Australia, and I am exposed to the same pullbacks and elevated volatility, within a context that generates more questions than answers.

Recent analysis by S&P Dow Jones Indices revealed the percentage of active funds managing to outperform their index in Australia has sunk to its second-lowest level since 2013.

For the Australian Equity General category the percentage of outperformers is only 11%. For the Global Equity General category that percentage is 4% (yes, four!).

Based on the recent August experiences and observations, I am not surprised.

One telling statistic is only 35% of the ASX200 has outperformed the local index over the first six months of 2026. While the corresponding percentage internationally is equally low, at 39% it is at least not that low.