Fund Manager News

Equity markets had a volatile week with indices in the US, Europe and Asia all ending lower amid rising COVID-19 cases and uncertainty ahead of the US election. The week saw some significant intraday volatility, which saw the VIX Index – a measure of market volatility – rise to its highest level in more than…

The hunt for yield is on again, with a vengeance. But how much risk will investors take to get it, and do they really understand what chasing high yield means for their hard-earned savings? Mint chief executive, Rebecca Thomas, explains why eating some capital return is a better option for income-hungry Kiwi investors... Internationally, fund…

Fund updates from our fund managers - September 2020 AMP Capital New Zealand - Income Generator Fund - Q3 2020 Milford - Australian Absolute Growth Fund Milford - Balanced Fund Milford - Conservative Fund Milford - Diversified Income Fund Milford - Dynamic Fund Milford - Global Corporate Bond Fund Milford - Global Equity Fund Milford…

Before moving onto our usual market commentary, we thought we would make a few comments on the NZ election result over the weekend in terms of market implications. The centre-left Labour government will be unencumbered by coalition partners to implement its policy platform. While policy has been light in detail, priorities will be NZ$40bn infrastructure…

  Global markets continue to perform despite the economic impact of Covid-19, writes Mike Taylor, CEO and founder of Pie Funds. Global markets continue to be driven higher by the same themes. Record low interest rates (which is forcing investors out of cash in never-before-seen numbers), fiscal and monetary stimulus on an unprecedented scale, and…

Commentary from George Carter, Director of Nikko AM - 2020 The quarter ending 30 September provided investors with strong returns across all sectors; however, this was largely driven by the uplift in prices throughout July and August with the month of September seeing a modest pull-back in equity markets. During the month, the Growth fund…

2020 Annual ESG Manager Survey written by Russell Investments Has environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors increased or decreased in importance? According to the results of Russell Investments’ annual asset manager survey, the volume has been turned up on responsible investing, ESG integration is now universally recognised as an important consideration when analysing investment opportunities.…

Market expectations for the Official Cash Rate (“OCR”) to go negative next year are increasing.  The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (“RBNZ”) has suggested that this is a real possibility if further monetary policy support is required.  Negative rates should provide scope for lower borrowing and saving rates, but the extent of this and its…

With the US share market up +45% since the lows in late March, and shares of companies like Amazon up +79% from the lows and +62% year-to-date, you would be forgiven for asking “what global pandemic?”. It is clear that despite many industries being severely impacted by COVID-19, there are also many which have benefitted.…

The economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has been notable for a swift, coordinated reduction in wholesale funding rates by central banks worldwide. This reduction to historic lows has been largely passed on to retail and commercial borrowers, and further falls in interest rates are expected from here (in New Zealand, the Official Cash…

VIACOMCBS REPORT INVEST IN THE FUND

In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX50G index fell -1% over the quarter but remains +5.9% year to date. A key detractor was heavy weight A2 Milk (-24%) on daiguo sales disruptions, dragging down Synlait (-23%) whilst Sanford fell (-9%) on a weak update. The key outperformers in the quarter were Summerset (+40%) on stronger house prices and…