Investment objective
The investment objective is to generate superior returns for Unit holders by investing in global markets, with a focus on reducing risk and preserving capital.
Investment Strategy
The Defender Global Fund (Fund) provides investors with exposure to global markets through a long and short strategy. The Fund starts with the Manager’s global macroeconomic and market outlook, then overlays the key thematics the Manager believes will affect future performance, and combines this with a bottom-up investment decision criteria.
Performance Summary
| Entry NAV Price | $2.3271 |
| Quarter portfolio return | +84.7% |
Commentary
The Defender Global Fund returned +84.7% on the investment portfolio in Q2 CY2026
This was a landmark quarter for the Fund. The AI infrastructure thesis we have carried for two years crystallised in dramatic fashion, our single largest position more than tripled, and we were able to take a meaningful amount of profit off the table while welcoming substantial new capital across four new unit series. We set out below both the market backdrop and, more importantly, what actually happened inside the portfolio.
Financial Markets Report: Q2 CY2026
If the March quarter was a correction, the June quarter was a vertical recovery. Global equity markets staged one of the strongest three-month advances of the century, led once again by artificial intelligence and semiconductors, as the geopolitical fears of March gave way to earnings-driven optimism.
US Market Overview: Best Quarter Since 2020
The S&P 500 rose roughly 15% and the Nasdaq 100 gained around 28% for the quarter — the best three months for both since Q2 2020. April did the heavy lifting with a double-digit surge, May extended it, and June saw the cap-weighted index peak on the 2nd before a modest pullback as small-cap, equal-weight and value benchmarks broadened the advance to new highs. The star of the quarter was semiconductors: the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained 87.8%, its best quarter since inception in 1994. Underpinning it all were 20%-plus earnings growth, an interim US-Iran agreement that pushed energy prices back toward pre-conflict levels, and blockbuster memory-chip demand. A late-June wobble under new Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh knocked the Nasdaq more than 7% off its record before strong results from Micron steadied the tape.
The Portfolio:
US:
The industrialisation of intelligence moved from thesis to earnings this quarter. The hyperscaler capex that markets fretted about in late 2025 began translating into the revenue and margin growth that justified it, and the read-through for the specialist infrastructure names we favour was powerful. We continue to believe that the risk of under-investing in GPU infrastructure remains far greater than the risk of over-spending, and the quarter’s results across the complex reinforced that view. Our core mega-cap positions — Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, NVIDIA and Meta — participated in the rally, though we note that most of our additions to these names were made in June, at or near the market’s peak, which capped their contribution for the period.
Alphabet (GOOG) remains a core holding and delivered for us again this quarter, adding roughly $154k including dividends. The full-stack story — TPU silicon, Gemini, Google Cloud re-acceleration and disciplined margins — continues to compound, and the position did exactly what we want an anchor holding to do: participate in the upside without demanding constant attention.
This was SharonAI’s quarter. Having uplisted to Nasdaq in February at US$30, SHAZ ran to an all-time high of US$97.48 on 17 June before closing the quarter at US$84.66. A number of catalysts drove the share price with the largest being the collaboration with NVIDIA to deploy up to 40,000 Grace Blackwell GB300 GPUs and 72MW of new Australian data centre capacity.
Gold:
Gold, which had been a reliable hedge, faded through the back half of June — from around US$4,317 mid-month to an eight-month low near US$3,959 — as capital rotated back into risk. We initiated a basket of ASX gold producers during June; the timing was unfortunate, and the position carried the full late-quarter drawdown. It is a modest holding and we are comfortable with the entry on a longer view.
The Australian Economy
The RBA delivered its third rate rise of the year in May, taking the cash rate to 4.35%, then held in June while its minutes made clear that further tightening remains on the table. The ASX 200 finished the June quarter up about 3.5% and the 2025-26 financial year up roughly 3% in price terms, having touched a record above 9,000 in April before ranging for two months. Australia’s emergence as a Sovereign AI hub in the APAC region — the very theme our SharonAI position expresses — remains one of the more compelling structural stories in the local market.
Looking Ahead
We do not expect quarters like this one often. The AI build-out remains, in our view, in its early innings, and the focus for the rest of 2026 shifts from who is buying the GPUs to who is genuinely making money with them. We enter the second half with capital, conviction and a healthy respect for how quickly this market can turn.
Regards,
The Defender Global Team
Key Information
Sector allocation
30 June 2026
Important Notice
This report has been prepared by Defender Capital Pty Ltd, operating under a Corporate Authorised Representative agreement of Defender Asset Management Limited (AFSL 482722), Fund Manager of the Defender Global Fund, without taking into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of individuals, and is prepared only for wholesale investors. Before making an investment decision about the Fund, investors should read the Fund’s Information Memorandum available at the Fund’s website and obtain advice from an appropriate financial adviser.
This information is current as at the date of publication and has been prepared based on information believed to be accurate at the time. Assumptions and estimates may have been made which may prove not to be accurate. To the full extent permitted by law, neither the Fund Manager, the trustee nor any related entity makes any warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of the information in this newsletter, and each disclaims all liability that may arise from it being inaccurate, unreliable or incomplete.
The +109% Simple Dietz return is calculated on the investment portfolio and is materially affected by intra-period capital flows and the in-specie subscription and part-sale of SharonAI during the quarter; it is not a Unit holder return. A single position represented approximately 45% of the Fund at quarter end, which materially increases concentration risk. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. No performance is forecast.