If you are over 40 and feel behind on superannuation, the instinct is often to think you need to make more money from the market — find better stocks, take more risk and chase higher returns. But that may be looking at the problem from the wrong angle.

With retirement potentially less than 20 years away, one of the biggest risks is not failing to find the next big winner. It is suffering a major loss and then spending years trying to recover. Financial planners call this sequence-of-returns risk: the order in which returns arrive matters as much as the average, because losses suffered in the years just before or after retirement have a much larger impact on outcomes than the same losses early in a working life. The maths explains why: if you have $100 invested and the market falls 50 per cent, you are left with $50. If the market then rises 50 per cent, you are only back to $75. Turning that $50 back into $100 requires a 100 per cent return. That is why avoiding even part of a major downturn can make such a difference.

Consider two hypothetical investors, John and Sally, who each invest $10,000 in the Australian share market 10 years before the Global Financial Crisis in 2007. Using the S&P/ASX 200 price index from November 1997 to November 2017, John remains fully invested and his $10,000 grows to around $24,600. John's journey was far from smooth: the GFC saw the S&P/ASX 200 lose roughly half its value between its November 2007 peak and its March 2009 trough, a drawdown from which the price index was still recovering years later.

Sally invests in the same market but takes a different approach to risk. Rather than trying to predict the top, she watches the market's long-term trend — think of it as drawing a line underneath the major lows as the market rises. If price breaks clearly below that line and keeps falling, it is a warning that the trend has changed, so she moves to cash. She does not try to pick the exact bottom either. She waits until the market stops falling, starts turning, and a new upward trend begins to form before getting back in.

Using the GFC as an ideal example, exiting around the 2007 market peak and re-entering around the 2009 low would have turned Sally's $10,000 into approximately $53,500 by November 2017. Same starting capital, same market — but she more than doubled John's return.

The point is not that Sally picked the top and bottom perfectly; she did not need to. You do not have to be a market genius to see that prices had stopped rising and started falling, and by 2009 it was evident prices had stopped falling and started recovering. That is the real lesson.

As retirement approaches, time becomes just as important as return. At 25, you potentially have decades to recover from a major market collapse. At 45, 50 or 55, losing years rebuilding your portfolio can dramatically change your retirement. For context, most Australians' super is invested in default balanced or growth options with substantial allocations to listed shares, which means a large market drawdown flows directly through to retirement balances unless risk is actively reduced. So beyond asking "How can I make more money?", another question is just as important: "How do I avoid losing what I have already accumulated?" For anyone over 40 trying to make the next 20 years count, protecting capital during major downturns is far more valuable than finding the next hot stock.

Best and Worst Sectors

Consumer Staples was the best-performing sector this week, rising more than 1.5 per cent, driven by better-than-expected results from supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths. Both delivered strong profit growth and improving margins, while renewed interest-rate concerns also encouraged investors back towards more defensive areas of the market.

Materials gained 1.5 per cent as stronger commodity prices across iron ore, copper, gold and lithium drove broad buying across the major miners.

Healthcare rose more than 1 per cent, helped by a strong result from Ramsay Health Care, which delivered 23 per cent underlying profit growth and saw its shares surge around 15 per cent.

At the other end of the market, Information Technology was the weakest sector, falling 2.71 per cent as WiseTech dropped around 10 per cent after its FY26 result. Hotter inflation also increased rate-hike expectations and put further pressure on highly valued growth stocks — a pattern where long-duration valuations are most sensitive to rising rate expectations.

Communication Services was the second-worst sector, dropping 2.47 per cent as heavy selling in Telstra and REA Group outweighed strength elsewhere. Telstra remains under pressure following its FY26 result, and REA fell sharply on Thursday.

Consumer Discretionary rounded out the worst performers, falling more than 2 per cent as hotter inflation lifted expectations for another RBA rate rise. This weighed on retailers, while Wesfarmers also fell after its earnings result.

Best and Worst Stocks

Ansell Limited led the ASX Top 100 this week, climbing more than 15 per cent after a strong FY26 result, with adjusted EPS up 17.8 per cent. Margins also expanded, and management is forecasting further earnings growth in FY27.

Paladin Energy followed, rising more than 14 per cent after strong FY26 results showed revenue up 71 per cent. Production was at the top end of guidance and costs at the low end, while the business moved into positive operating cash flow.

Ramsay Health Care rounded out the leading performers, gaining more than 11 per cent after a strong FY26 result. Underlying profit rose 22.9 per cent, margins improved, and management forecast further earnings and margin growth in FY27.

At the other end, Liontown Resources was the weakest performer, falling more than 9 per cent as investors focused on higher costs and heavy spending at Kathleen Valley. Its FY27 cost guidance was disappointing despite strong cash generation.

Endeavour Group followed, falling more than 9 per cent after a weak FY26 result, with underlying profit down 14.8 per cent. Retail earnings were down 17.6 per cent and the full-year dividend was cut 36 per cent.

Sigma Healthcare Limited also fell more than 9 per cent despite a strong FY26 result. Investors focused on cash conversion, integration costs and whether future growth can justify its high valuation.

All Ordinaries Index Update

As August closes, the All Ordinaries Index is down 0.29 per cent so far this week. It started strongly, with buyers pushing the market towards 9,400, but Thursday's selling saw the index retreat towards last week's low and the all-important 9,200 level.

That makes 9,200 the key level to watch. If it holds again, sellers will have had two attempts to push the market below this level and failed. That would strengthen the medium-term bullish picture and suggest buyers are still willing to step in on market pullbacks.

Interestingly, August is normally an average month seasonally, yet this year it has been one of the stronger months, alongside April, July and November. This suggests reporting season ultimately delivered more positives than negatives for the broader market.

The next test is September, which historically ranks as the second-worst month of the year. As such, volatility could pick up and some stocks that have run hard may begin to pull back. That could also create opportunities elsewhere: stocks that were heavily sold during reporting season may start to recover as money rotates out of the recent winners and into areas offering better value.

For now, the broader picture still looks increasingly bullish, particularly among larger-cap stocks. The next area being watched closely is the mid- and small-cap space. If the broader market keeps pushing higher, these stocks could be the next part of the market to catch up.

Good luck and good trading.

Dale Gillham is the Chief Analyst at Wealth Within and the international bestselling author of How to Beat the Managed Funds by 20%. He is also the author of the award-winning book Accelerate Your Wealth—It's Your Money, Your Choice, available in all good bookstores and online at www.wealthwithin.com.au.

Disclaimer: While Wealth Within holds an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL:226347), the information featured in this program is general in nature and therefore should not be relied upon. Before making any investment decisions, you should consult a licensed professional who can advise whether your investment decisions are appropriate for you. The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.