Welcome to MA Financial Group’s 2026 Investment Outlook.
In this Outlook, our investment professionals share their perspectives into the year that was and the opportunities ahead across key asset classes including private credit, real estate, equities, private equity and venture capital.
Throughout 2025 we saw a continued shift by investors towards defensive alternative strategies, reflecting growing confidence in the diversification benefits and the risk, return and duration characteristics of private market assets.
Looking ahead, we remain cautiously optimistic for Australia’s economic outlook for 2026. We believe disciplined investors who focus on quality assets, valuation and long-term fundamentals rather than short-term narratives will be rewarded.
Across market conditions, our investment teams will continue to seek opportunities grounded in sound market fundamentals, applying discipline and rigour across all stages of the investment process. As always, our focus remains unchanged: delivering attractive long-term, risk-adjusted returns and co-investing alongside our clients to ensure strong alignment of interests.
Asset class insights
In 2026, our outlook for global markets remains cautiously constructive. Overall, while returns may be more selective than in recent years, 2026 should reward disciplined investors focused on quality assets, valuation and long-term fundamentals rather than short-term narratives.
Private credit continues its rapid expansion and is now firmly established as a core allocation for global investors. As the asset class matures, the defining question for investors is no longer “Do I have exposure to private credit?” but rather “What do I own – and how resilient is it?” In simpler terms, the focus has shifted to what lies under the hood.
Competition for assets is expected to intensify across all core real estate subsectors in 2026, particularly within retail and industrial markets. In alternative markets, investor attention will continue to focus on high-conviction, long term themes, particularly in emerging and less saturated subsectors. Across both markets, outperformance will rely on strong governance, deep sector expertise and active asset management.
We believe investors will be best rewarded in 2026 by being selective in their stock allocations. After three consecutive years of strong equity market returns, outcomes are likely to be more discriminating this year with attractive opportunities to deploy capital in high-quality businesses for investors prepared to take a medium- to long-term view.
In 2026 we see increasing opportunity for capital deployment in Australian lower-mid market technology and technology-enabled businesses, as AI and technology impact all industries and the small-medium sized business succession wave continues in Australia.
