Fund Manager News

Amazon is one of the rare companies that meets all three of our investment criteria. It has a wide economic moat, long-term focused management, and a very long runway for growth. We believe Amazon is in pole position in both e-commerce and cloud computing – two industries that are still in the early stages of…

This year has been a year of firsts. In the financial world the latest to make it to the list of firsts was our historically low Official Cash Rate (OCR) which hit a new low in March this year. With interest rates at record lows, what can investors do to make their money work harder…

After several strong months, the Fund gave some performance back in August with a return of -1.81%. While several of our key stock calls delivered good results, some of our previous winners retraced a little and our generally low beta longs struggled to keep up with what was a buoyant albeit volatile market in August.…

In New Zealand, the Supermarket retailing industry is forecast to grow at 1.9% over the next five years. That growth rate highlights the saturation level of the industry, with profit growth more likely to come from a better online presence and increasing efficiency of floor space rather than roll-out of stores. New Zealand’s leading Supermarket…

The S&P/NZX50 Gross Index added a further +1.8% taking the year to date return to +3.9%. Top performers included Vista (+43%) Vector (+15%) and Chorus (+14%), whilst Sanford (-11%), a2 Milk (-11%) and Synlait (-8%) underperformed. The Fund moderately underperformed the benchmark in the month of August, rising by +1.06% compared to the +1.79% turned in by…

US equity markets saw their first weekly losses since July after a late-week sell-off saw the NASDAQ 100 end the week more than 3% lower and the S&P 500 off around 2%. Both indices had made record-highs on Wednesday before the sharp turnaround. In New Zealand, equities also struggled with the NZX 50 ending down…

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This year has seen one of the most rapid shifts between fear and wild optimism I have ever seen. It has meant some of the toughest months on record and, like last month, some of the best. It’s easy to find your views getting increasingly polarised in times like this. That doesn’t help make great…

The world has changed dramatically in the last five months and the pandemic has had a profound impact on all our lives in New Zealand. In my investment career, I have experienced all sorts of shocks, from global recessions and banking crises, to terrorist attacks and natural disasters, but this is my first global pandemic.…

If there was ever a time when strong financial metrics were the single trademark of a good company, that time has long passed. As responsible, fundamental investors at Milford, there is much we need to know beyond the profit a company will generate this year or next. The value of intangibles assets such as brands,…

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. Key points The world is learning to live with COVID-19 and economies are recovering faster than expected, demonstrated by, in aggregate, better-than-expected economic and earnings data in August.…

August was a strong month for markets all-round, writes CIO Mark Devcich. Reporting season wins August was a strong month for markets all-round. The typical reporting season boost (quarterly for global companies and half-yearly for Australasian companies) yielded large share-price movements across the portfolio and, in most cases, results were well received. The past six…