Wilson Asset Management’s WAM Active has delivered a record-breaking financial year 2026, with its investment portfolio returning an impressive 75.5 per cent. This significantly outstripped the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation Index by nearly 70 per cent, marking its strongest performance since its 2008 launch. Wilson Asset Management’s WAM Active is a listed investment company offering investors exposure to a diversified portfolio of Australian and global equities, managed for long-term capital growth. The exceptional results stemmed largely from a pivotal decision by Portfolio Manager Shaun Weick in February to rapidly increase the fund’s cash holdings. This move was prompted by dual concerns: the potential disruption of software businesses by agentic artificial intelligence and geopolitical tensions threatening gold stocks.
Consequently, WAM Active quickly divested stocks vulnerable to AI disruption and significantly reduced its gold exposure. Instead of immediately reinvesting, Weick built a substantial cash pile, reaching approximately 35 per cent of the fund, to assess the impact of rising energy prices following Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Weick noted the rapid dynamics of modern markets, where sharp sell-offs are often followed by equally fast bounce backs. Once oil prices stabilised, WAM Active aggressively redeployed this cash, slashing the fund’s position from 35 per cent to just 5 per cent within days, primarily into companies positioned to benefit from the burgeoning AI boom.
A key driver was a 4 per cent stake in Firmus Technologies, an AI data centre developer, which WAM values at $145 a share despite a recent equity raising at $230. Weick anticipates Firmus’s valuation to balloon ahead of its anticipated initial public offering, viewing it as a sign of a healthier Australian IPO market. Beyond Firmus, the portfolio was repositioned to capture the global AI build-out across its supply chain, including investments in rare earth companies, and those benefiting from the rebound in lithium and copper markets. Exposure also increased to digital infrastructure enablers and healthcare AI innovators like Artrya and EchoIQ, which Weick sees as a major global opportunity. The fund’s strong performance enabled a total fully franked dividend of 9.4¢ a share for FY26, including a 2¢ special dividend.
