Firetrail Australian Small Companies Fund – Active ETF (ASX:FSML) returned -6.85% after fees for the month ending 31 October 2026, underperforming the ASX Small Ordinaries Accumulation Index by 0.42%, according to the fund's monthly investment update filed on 10 November 2026.

Key Points

  • The Fund returned -6.85% after fees in October 2026, against a benchmark return of -6.43%, resulting in an excess return of -0.42% for the month.
  • Over one year, the Fund returned -10.60% after fees versus the benchmark's -14.36%, delivering an excess return of 3.76%.
  • The Fund's NAV price as at October 2026 was $1.8974, with an application price of $1.9031 and a redemption price of $1.8917.
  • The Fund had 69 holdings and a fund size of $912 million as at the reporting date.

October 2026 Performance Against Benchmark

The Fund's after-fees return of -6.85% for October 2026 compared with the ASX Small Ordinaries Accumulation Index return of -6.43%, producing an excess return of -0.42% for the month. Over the quarter, the Fund returned -3.69% against the benchmark's -3.89%, an excess return of 0.20%. For the six-month period, the Fund returned -5.93% versus -6.94% for the benchmark. Since inception, the Fund has returned 13.92% per annum after fees, compared with 3.06% per annum for the benchmark, an excess return of 10.86% per annum. The Fund's inception date is 20 February 2020.

Market Conditions During October 2026

According to the filing, the ASX Small Ordinaries fell 6.4% in October, while the ASX 200 rose 1.4%. ASX Small Resources declined 13.9% as gold, lithium and rare earths sold off. ASX Small Industrials fell 2.8%. The filing noted that the Reserve Bank of Australia raised the cash rate to 4.85% at its Melbourne Cup Day meeting, its fifth rate rise for the year and its highest level since 2008. Australia's headline CPI rose to 4.3% in the year to September, up from 4.0% in August. The filing also noted that global central banks including the US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan and Reserve Bank of New Zealand held rates in October.

Fund Details and Key Holdings

The Fund is managed by portfolio managers Matthew Fist, Eleanor Swanson and Patrick Hodgens, all co-founders of Firetrail. The Fund carries a management fee of 0.85% per annum and a performance fee of 20% of outperformance above an annual hurdle of 2% above the benchmark. The risk/return profile is classified as Very High. The APIR code is WHT3093AU. Three key holdings disclosed in the filing are Channel Infrastructure, GemLife, and Minerals 260. The Fund held 69 holdings in total, including 43 event positions held at less than 1%. Pinnacle Fund Services Limited acts as responsible entity for the Fund.