Chris Stott: Why small caps are firing and 5 'Reporting Season Awards'

August reporting season was a rollercoaster but it didn't stop the momentum that has been pushing the ASX higher in 2025.  There were shock sell-offs, steady beats, and a very strong showing from small caps. To help make sense of it, Livewire spoke with small cap stock picker Chris Stott from 1851 Capital, and our very own Kerry Sun, who spends his days hunting for insights from announcements, broker notes and market moves to share with readers on Market Index and Livewire. This episode of The Rules of Investing was a little different. We unpacked the big themes and surprising stats, dug into the drivers of small-cap strength, and finished off by handing out five light-hearted reporting season awards - from the Stephen Bradbury Award (for the company everyone had written off) to the Sir Alex Ferguson Award (for standout management).    ________________________ Thanks to our Sponsor AlphaSense This latest episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. See what AlphaSense can do for your investment research—visit alpha-sense.com/livewire to get started.