ASX small and mid-cap companies ahead of global trends
- Wed 15 April 2026
- 5 MIN READ
Local mid-sized listed companies are embracing tech and positioning to front-run market dynamics. Hear what some of them had to say at our recent ASX SMIDcaps Conference.
Over 650 investors went behind the scenes with executives, founders and directors at the recent ASX-hosted, biannual ASX SMIDcaps Conference, in partnership with Bell Financial Group.
The event provides small and mid-market companies the opportunity to engage directly with the investment community, both in person and online, with 27 ASX-listed companies presenting their strategy, outlook and investment proposition.
With geopolitics front and centre, the US economy and its administration were among some of the hot topics. Other prominent themes were artificial intelligence (AI), energy and monetary policy.
“Whether we like it or not, the US market calibrates all developed markets and what happens there reverberates around the world. It's so important to have a view of the US,” Rob Crookston, Lead Strategist, Bell Financial Group Limited, told the audience during a market update.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerged as a dominant theme for the year ahead, with speakers reflecting on how they are navigating the rapidly evolving technology.
“Whether we like it or not, the US market calibrates all developed markets and what happens there reverberates around the world."
Rob Crookston and Will Riggall at the ASX SMIDcaps Conference April 2026
Crookston says "In my view, AI has not reached the productivity side yet; it’s 12 to 18 months’ away. It's this AI capex cycle that we're in. So that's the build of data centres. That's the energy infrastructure we need for data centres as well. That is driving significant growth in the US".
Throughout the day, speakers acknowledged the uncertainty created by ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, alongside discussions on the resilience of the US economy, the impact of US monetary policy and lower taxes as supportive tailwinds.
Also part of the debate was the risk of a prolonged conflict in the Middle East and how that could weigh on global growth and subsequently push up core inflation over time, driven by higher freight, materials and packaging costs.
"Central banks may be hamstrung to respond to any weakness they see in the global economy that flows through from higher inflation," says Crookston.
As a listed business, Bell Financial benefits from many of the mega trends supporting markets. This includes the ageing demographic and the growing number of self-funded retirees.
Alex Skelton, Manager, Listed Company Services at ASX presents at the ASX SMIDcaps Conference April 2026
Crookston says "It is forecast more than eight million people over the age of 65 will be reliant on government support by 2050, so we have an important national need to create more self-funded retirees in this country. It's a huge tailwind for the wealth management industry and specifically for us”.
Tapping long-term trends
James Twiss presenting at the ASX SMIDcaps Conference April 2026
While there has been much commentary around the SaaS Apocalypse or SaaSpocalypse – the AI-induced, global sell-off of stocks in 2026 that operate under a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model – many Aussie small and mid-cap companies like pay-on-demand leader, Beforepay Group Limited (ASX:B4P), have business models that challenge SaaS incumbents.
“When people ask us if we are at risk of being disrupted by AI, my answer is we are the disruptors here. There are a lot of large companies, both lenders and companies that sell software into lenders, that are facing that AI SaaS Apocalypse that we've all heard about. The threat is coming from folks like us, people who have a nimble, light way of doing things,” said James Twiss, Chief Executive Officer, Beforepay, one of the day’s presenters.
Similar to the top of the bourse, the small- and mid-cap universe comprises many growing financial services businesses and the vibrancy of this sector means consolidation is ongoing. For instance, Tasmania’s MyState Limited (ASX:MYS) – another business tackling the SaaSpocalypse head on – has completed its acquisition of Queensland’s Auswide Bank.
“There are a lot of large companies, both lenders and companies that sell software into lenders"
Brett Morgan presenting at the ASX SMIDcaps Conference April 2026
“The rationale was both scale and to drive efficiencies out of the merged business. The goal of the merger was to extract $20 million to $25 million of annual synergies over a three-year period, from an investment of $29 million. We will achieve double-digit EPS accretion by successfully extracting the synergies from the merger,” said Brett Morgan, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, MyState.
Looking ahead, some investors may view current valuation levels in the ASX small and mid-cap as a compelling opportunity.
The next ASX SMIDcaps Conference will take place on Wednesday 23 September 2026. It will showcase another 27 small and mid-cap ASX-listed companies and provide investors the opportunity to engage directly with these emerging companies.
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