Fund Manager News

Emotions and investing don’t mix well. We have seen both rampant greed and fear at play in markets in the past 12-months and it is worth exploring how recent market euphoria could impact investors in 2021. We have a new type of panic in 2021 it seems. Unlike early 2020 when there was panic selling…

Update written by Roger Clayton, Salt Funds Management - 12th February 2021 NZ’s S&P/NZX50 Gross ended the volatile month up +0.3%. The strongest performers were Heartland (+12%) on lower bad debt expectations, Trustpower (+10%) as renewables drifted up, and Freightways (+9%) on a strong demand. The worst performers were Tourism Holdings (-13%) and Air New Zealand…

The Harbour Investment Outlook summarises recent market developments, what we are monitoring closely and our key views on the outlook for fixed interest, credit and equity markets. The COVID-19 vaccine rollout gathered steam during January. Israel, who has given the initial jab to a third of its population, is showing positive early signs. The vaccine…

Chief Investment Officer Mark Devcich discusses the warning signs he personally looks for. January started off as 2020 ended with extremely strong stock markets, but largely ended flat as volatility reared its head again late in the month. There was a noticeable increase in volatility over the course of January. There appeared to be forced…

This month CEO and Founder Mike Taylor discusses the GameStop stock play and the lessons we can learn. COLLATERAL DAMAGE AS RETAIL INVESTORS WEIGH IN In January, retail investors who post on a Reddit thread called wallstreetbets, which now has 3 million subscribers, decided to buy GME (GameStop), a small US gaming retailer whose profits…

Do you know what you own in your portfolio right now—at the precise moment you’re reading this? How much does it matter? The events of late January demonstrate all too well the importance of being able to clearly and quickly know your underlying exposures. The market drama surrounding heavily shorted stocks such as GameStop and AMC Entertainment…

Update by Matthew Goodson, Salt Funds Management - 4th February 2021 While not quite repeating the exceptionally strong performance of the prior couple of months, January was another solid period for the Fund, with a return of +1.24%. This pleasingly featured gains from both the short and long books – exactly what one would hope…

Higher inflation and the prospect of a reduction in central bank support is becoming a concern among financial market participants. We think this risk is low given most economies have spare capacity that is keeping unemployment rates higher and inflation lower than central banks desire. The ongoing threat of higher inflation and reduced monetary stimulus,…

The slant of the early reporting by the popular media on the crowd-driven squeeze on heavily shorted shares like GameStop is worthy of commentary. The angle is one of the little investor outwitting the so-called professionals, with the former walking away with huge gains. It is indeed a spectacular occurrence and reflects the democratisation of access to…

The Indian Finance Minister yesterday delivered a Budget to the Nation which certainly took the fancy of stock market investors. India’s bellwether Nifty 50 Index has jumped 8% in the last 2 days as both local and global investors applauded the bold reformist moves taken by the Government. The Government also forecasts growth of 11%…

Commentary from Matt Johnson, Nikko AM - 2021 As we enter a new year it is timely to look back on 2020 a year that in many ways was full of surprises.  There was the speed at which Covid-19 escalated from a regional outbreak to a global pandemic, the severity of government initiatives to manage…

Global share markets made good gains in the December quarter, with the MSCI ACWI Index – Net returning 5.3% in unhedged New Zealand dollar (NZD) terms. In hedged NZD terms, the Index returned 12.3%. Much of the gains were driven by encouraging developments on the COVID-19 vaccine front, with several leading pharmaceutical companies announcing vaccines…