ASX dogs bite back, handing momentum investors a rare defeat

It is usually a good bet to simply buy the previous year’s winners. But 2025 proved very different, with the worst performers of 2024 back with a vengeance.

For decades, investors have generated solid returns from simply buying the previous year’s winners and selling the losers. Last year, however, dealt a brutal reality check to momentum strategies.

The dogs of the S&P/ASX 200 roared back to life in 2025, thanks largely to a resurgence in mining stocks, wrong-footing an army of investors betting the champions from the previous 12 months would extend their rally.

Source: https://www.afr.com/markets/equity-markets/asx-dogs-bite-back-handing-momentum-investors-a-rare-defeat-20260108-p5nsig