The Spheria Australian Smaller Companies Fund – Active ETF (ASX: SPHX) will be admitted for quotation on Wednesday, 15 March 2026.

SPHX has been launched in response to demand from direct investors, brokers, and financial advisers for exchange access to the Spheria Australian Smaller Companies Fund via an active ETF. The Spheria Australian Smaller Companies strategy will now be available as an unlisted Fund, active ETF (ASX: SPHX) and LIC (ASX: SEC). Since inception in July 2016, the unlisted Fund has returned +8.5% per annum (after fees), outperforming the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Accumulation Index by +2.2% per annum.

The portfolio typically consists of about 50 ASX smaller companies, constructed following rigorous bottom-up fundamental analysis.

Spheria Asset Management Co-Founder and Co-Portfolio Manager, Marcus Burns said: “Small caps can be the most lucrative part of the Australian share market, but it’s also where capital can be quickly destroyed if investors try to pick winners without thorough fundamental analysis and industry research.

“A portfolio of small caps with strong fundamentals, managed by a specialist investment team, is a sensible way to capture the potential upside of this part of the market, while ensuring capital is well protected. This is what SPHX provides via a simple and accessible Active ETF.”

Spheria Asset Management Co-Founder and Co-Portfolio Manager, Matthew Booker said: “Our investment process places free cashflow at its core. The vast majority of ASX small and micro-cap stocks don’t generate earnings or cashflow – they are speculative propositions. By focusing on businesses with predictable free cashflow generation, strong balance sheets, and attractive valuations, we’ve established a track record of uncovering great businesses long before the crowd takes notice, while also delivering downside protection during periods of turbulence.

“In the current market, small-cap valuations are near multi-decade lows relative to large caps and many great small cap companies have been indiscriminately sold alongside speculative names. We see an exceptional opportunity to deliver long-term outperformance in the coming years.”

SPHX joins Spheria’s existing suite of investment solutions, which includes the ASX-listed Spheria Emerging Companies Limited (ASX: SEC), along with an unlisted global small cap strategy, and Australian mid cap, small cap and microcap strategies.

The Spheria Australian Smaller Companies Fund has received a ‘Highly Recommended’ rating from Zenith Investment Partners and a ‘Recommended’ rating from Lonsec Research. Morningstar has assigned the Fund a ‘Silver’ Analyst Rating.