Fund Manager News

Chief Investment Officer Mark Devcich on the latest market conditions. September was a difficult month for global markets as concerns around the Chinese property market took hold, inflation concerns and an impasse on the US government debt ceiling all caused a sell-off in markets. There was a solid move to more cyclical assets away from…

Chinese property developer Evergrande Group dominated headlines last week as it failed to make interest payments. Financial markets have been preparing for its possible collapse and some have suggested this could be a “Lehman moment” – drawing parallels to the American bank whose collapse kicked off the 2008 Financial Crisis. We don’t think this is…

September 5th 2021: Over the past few years environmental, social and governance – commonly termed ESG – factors have risen to prominence within the local and global investing landscape. At Devon Funds we support many collaborations and initiatives so we can continue to be at the forefront of this positive change. We are signatories of…

Brandywine Global: China’s economic growth deceleration has been of increasing concern to global markets. The Evergrande crisis has brought these worries to a flashpoint. China’s economic growth deceleration, triggered by a zero-COVID-19 policy and multi-faceted regulatory tightening, has been of increasing concern to global markets. Removing excesses and improving the health of the property sector…

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) raised the Official Cash Rate today to 0.50% (previously 0.25%) – and have hinted that another rate rise is likely soon. This rate rise had been flagged and was anticipated by the market. Even with future rate rises, monetary policy will still be an accommodative stance for some…

Property developer China Evergrande Group is receiving considerable media attention due to its current financial woes. We think the Evergrande issue is unlikely to be systemic, due to its nature and the lack of desire for a disorderly unwind. Rather than calling this a “GFC-style event” or “China’s Lehman”, we need to think about the…

At some stage the world may learn to live with COVID-19 and, while that may be hard to believe in the middle of a local lockdown, this pandemic may eventually morph into an endemic. From an investment perspective, we need to accept that this is likely and it will allow markets to continue to swing…

Our high yield corporate credit team has been monitoring how inflation is impacting various market sectors, with an eye on four factors: input cost inflation, pricing power, impact to earnings and repricing vulnerability. Here, Matt Fey and Brian French explore which sectors may be more greatly impacted within these areas, and why corporate credit in…

Climate change disclosure is increasingly prevalent Diversity and inclusion considerations are growing wider in scope The focus on human rights is rising with inaugural modern slavery statements While New Zealand is grappling with the latest outbreak of COVID-19, many of the country’s largest companies announced their financial results, as well as their sustainability initiatives over…

Update by Elevation Capital - For August 2021 VIEW THE ENTIRE GLOBAL SHARES FUND PORTFOLIO MONTHLY FUND FACTSHEET INVEST NOW Australia’s Ampol (owner of Gull) has offered $3.78 per share to acquire an Elevation Capital Global Shares Fund holding - Z Energy. The Fund identified an opportunity to invest in Z Energy on the back…

This month CEO and Founder Mike Taylor discusses US markets and the Federal Reserve's approach. The Fed doesn't rock the boat... for now This month has been a busy one as lockdowns hit New Zealand once again. However, neither the spread of the Delta variant in the US nor the latest lockdown here have dented…

The Harbour Investment Outlook summarises recent market developments, what we are monitoring closely and our key views on the outlook for fixed income and equity markets. The MSCI All Country World (global shares) Index rose 2.4% (in USD) in August, buoyed by positive earnings momentum and a more dovish than expected US Federal Reserve. The…