Momentum is cracking, rates are falling… Haupt is buying income

You might think that the April firestorm in markets would have been a terrible time to launch a new fund, but that’s not the case, according to Wilson Asset Management Lead Portfolio Manager Matthew Haupt.

The fund in question was the Wilson Income Maximiser and, according to Haupt, April’s volatility allowed the new fund to get set in positions much quicker than would have otherwise been the case.

“What a great time to launch a fund with Trump coming out with his whiteboard.

Obviously, we saw volatility, but for us it was a great time. Equities fell, credit spreads blew out. We were starting to think, when we first had the money, it might take a month or two to get invested.

We became invested within a few weeks, so we got to deploy into a much better market and post that, we've seen a huge risk on rally”.

In the following interview for Livewire’s income series, Haupt shares his thoughts on the current risks and opportunities in markets, how Wilson Asset Management thinks about income, and what it takes to find great income stocks.

Rates, risks and the Goldilocks zone

With inflation moderating and the market pricing in rate cuts, Haupt believes we're in a sweet spot - at least for now.

“We’re in a bit of a Goldilocks period at the moment,” he said, “where the cuts are being implemented or going to be implemented in a very resilient economy. So that is a good spot for risk assets.”

Still, Wilson Asset Management is keeping a close eye on the direction of economic data. The team is positioning accordingly, including adjusting portfolio duration.

“We’re modifying our duration a little bit… as long as the soft data doesn’t deteriorate any further, it’s a pretty good environment for equities,” Haupt explained.

He also addressed the recent decline in headline yield for the ASX. Rather than signalling a fundamental lack of income opportunity, he believes it reflects a market distorted by momentum.

“We think the yield being low is a reflection of the crowding or momentum trades happening,” Haupt said. “Momentum generally is in low-yielding companies… So that is a little bit of a function of the momentum market we’re seeing”.

Finding income beyond yield

For Haupt and his team, yield isn’t everything. Their approach to income stocks is based on a broader, multi-factor view.

“We don’t just look at income as one dimensional,” he said. “We look at cash flow. Does the company have the ability to pay out distributions now or in the future, or is there a capital management tool they can pull?”

Among the stocks the team currently favours are:

• Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO): “They’ve got 18 major projects. They don’t need to do any more acquisitions and they can drive a decade of growth from these projects.”
• CSL (ASX: CSL): “Hard to think about CSL as an income stock, but it’s going to have growth and a huge amount of cashflow unleashed. We really like CSL… They’re changing the model where they do more partnerships… de-risking the R&D.”
• WiseTech (ASX: WTC): “Despite the ex-CEO shenanigans, the company is great. It’s a great Australian growth story… The recent acquisition we are very supportive of. There’s a huge amount of opportunities still.”

These positions also reflect a broader shift away from crowded momentum names like CBA. “These high market-weight stocks are going to get capital coming back to them,” Haupt said.

Why income needs both equity and debt

Unlike traditional equity income funds, the WAM Income Maximiser combines equities and debt - and that’s by design.

“An equity-only monthly income fund introduces a huge amount of bias,” Haupt said.

“You’re having to chase yield through equities or you’re relying on capital growth to fund part of the distribution.”

By pairing debt and equity, Haupt says the fund gains flexibility. “We can pursue growth opportunities on the equity side while we’ve got the high running yield on the debt side.”

Their neutral allocation is 60% equities and 40% debt, but the team actively shifts those weightings depending on market conditions.

“We’ve pulled debt down to 30% and moved equity up to 70%,” Haupt explained.

“But over the next period, I would probably expect us to move back towards neutral allocation, given the run equities have had.”

Tactical trades, interest rates and what’s next

On the debt side, Haupt says the fund primarily invests in short-duration, investment-grade bonds. “Spreads blew out 30 to 40 basis points on Trump’s tariff news,” he said.

“For us, that was a great opportunity… and they’ve all come in, so we’ve done very well on that trade.”

They’re also executing tactical trades using rate products. “We’ve been using the 10-year rate to express a few tactical trades which have paid off really well,” he said. “Again, going back to the flexibility of being an active manager.”

Looking forward, Haupt expects the RBA to cut rates twice more in 2025 but says market expectations are already ahead of the data. “The RBA went ultra-dovish when the trade tariffs happened… but then we’ve had soft data,” he said.

“To pin your hat on one data point - we have to see more before we start to factor in more rate cuts into our view.”

As for positioning, Haupt sees opportunities in the three and 10-year parts of the yield curve. “We think there’s not much money to be made in the short end, but the three and 10-year rates, for us, are happy hunting ground,” he said.

In a world where yield is getting harder to find, Haupt and the Wilson team are taking a flexible, data-driven approach, one that combines asset classes, leans into dislocations, and doesn’t rely solely on high dividends to generate income.

“The flexibility gives us freedom,” he says.

“And that’s exactly what you want when markets are this dynamic.”

A perfect combination of income and growth

WAM Income Maximiser (ASX: WMX) aims to provide monthly franked dividends and capital growth to shareholders by investing in Australia’s highest quality companies and corporate debt instruments. To learn more, visit the Wilson Asset Management website.