Fund Manager News

Article and video by Pie Funds - 23rd September 2020 Welcome to the September video update. In our latest video, we were joined by Guy Thornewill, Head of Research UK and Europe and Senior Investment Analyst, and Toby Woods, Senior Investment Analyst for Global and UK & Europe Funds, and covered off these questions: 1. What are…

The partnership between the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca is a leading candidate to develop a potential vaccine for COVID-19. If this proves successful, it will be undoubtedly unprecedented. However, the next big question is who can mass produce a vaccine that is both affordable and at such a scale? Read more > Disclaimer: The…

India’s markets continued to recover, rising nearly 10% over the last 3 months in AUD terms. Whilst the number of infections from COVID-19 continue to rise in India, company earnings were generally above expectations for the Q12021, driven predominantly by cost cutting initiatives. The rally has been broader, with greater participation from Mid and Small…

Before moving onto market commentary, a couple of green energy headlines caught our eye in recent weeks. In New Zealand, Labour is promising to bring forward its goal of 100% renewable electricity generation by 5 years to 2030 and support the development of pumped hydro schemes. Key will be the cost of making the goal…

Commentary from George Carter, Director of Nikko AM The momentum in financial markets that we’ve discussed in recent monthly updates was largely unchanged during August with investors experiencing strong returns across different sectors. The New Zealand equity market was seen as a relative sluggard with a return of just under 2% for the month, whilst…

As market interest rates in New Zealand decline further, additional consequences are revealing themselves. The theme of accelerating progression of longer-term trends continues. Wholesale interest rates continue to decline, with the Government’s PREFU announcement being the catalyst this week, due to a $10bln reduction in the size of the Government Stock issuance program for the…

Fund updates from our Fund Managers - 31 August 2020 Russell Investments Global Fixed Interest Fund Russell Investments Global Shares Fund Russell Investments Hedged Global Shares Fund Russell Investments NZ Fixed Interest Fund Russell Investments NZ Shares Fund Russell Investments Global Opportunities Fund Russell Investments Global Opportunities Fund $NZ hedged Russell Investments Global Listed Infrastructure…

US equity markets fell for a second straight week as the six-month rally hit its first speed bump, led by weakness in the previous high-flying tech sector. For the week, the NASDAQ 100 fell 4.1%, its worst weekly performance since March, while the broader S&P 500 fell around 2.5%. Meanwhile, European markets outperformed, with the…

The RBNZ’s stated preference for a negative OCR, should further stimulus be required, has encouraged the New Zealand market to expect negative wholesale cash interest rates next year This forward guidance on the potential for negative rates has led to large declines in retail interest rates and is having a powerful and positive impact on…

Airlines. Oil & Gas. Car manufacturing. Agriculture. Viticulture. Cement and Steel production. Even Bitcoin mining. The list of industries that most people now know either significantly impact or are impacted by global warming is long and growing. But another industry that belongs on this list may come as a bit of a surprise: Insurance. Apart…

The Buy-Now-Pay-Later segment has truly taken the world by storm. It is incredibly impressive to think two Aussies were responsible for what has been a massive shift in consumption habits globally and that the majority of BNPL companies are listed on the ASX. It is highly likely that you have come across one of the…

With reporting season behind us we can review the impacts COVID-19 is having on various sectors. Property companies which for the large part rely on collecting rents from tenants have been particularly interesting given the lockdown essentially forcing the closure of stores and the emptying of a range of these assets. Rent collections have been…