The All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up a welcome 1.38% on Monday, but most ASX All Ords stocks remain well down from the market highs on 14 February. Indeed, the All Ords is still down 9.78% since notching its record closing high on the day.
The headwinds that have dragged on global and Aussie stock markets alike since then can largely be pinned on the unpredictable and oft-changing trade policies under United States President Donald Trump.
Trump's sweeping global tariffs, in particular, have unsettled investors. This, in turn, sent many ASX All Ords stocks tumbling despite no likely fundamental changes to their long-term prospects.
"We, like almost every other investor on the planet, underestimated Trump's resolve to reshape global trade and just how far he appears willing to go to do this," said Jun Bei Liu, founder and lead portfolio manager at Ten Cap (courtesy of The Australian Financial Review).
Liu pointed to Trump's 2 April 'Liberation Day' tariff announcement as having "drastically changed the course of the macroeconomic and investment market outlook".
How should I invest in ASX All Ords stocks now?
Liu doesn't recommend buying ASX All Ords stocks based on forecasts of what Trump's next move may be.
"Pretending we can outfox Trump and know where his decisions are going, before he makes them, is not a sound investment approach," she said.
"Instead, we have tried to understand what is going on, work out the implications based on what we know and try to insulate ourselves from the chaos as best we can," she added.
Liu said she and her team at Ten Cap have instead been working to "identify and exploit mispriced opportunities".
She noted, "We were not making a call on a market rebound, but on identifying mispriced stocks based on stock specific fundamentals."
Last week (prior to Wednesday's 4.7% rebound on the All Ords), Ten Cap was buying some ASX All Ords stocks that Liu thought had fallen too far.
According to Liu:
Names we think look particularly interesting include Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH), Life360 Inc (ASX: 360), REA Group Ltd (ASX: REA), Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) and Cochlear Ltd (ASX: COH).
Most of those businesses have little or no tariff impact and yet most have seen their share prices fall well into double digits.
She added that medical device company Fisher & Paykel "has very strong pricing power and over time, they will increase prices and recover those costs. But the worst-case scenario is already in people's numbers".
