Christmas message 2021

Christmas message 2021

by | 17 Dec, 2021 | General

Dear friends,

It is a pleasure to bring greetings to all who are members of Christian KiwiSaver Scheme, the Anglican Church’s clergy Pension Fund, the Retire Fund, and all our friends and supporters. May our infant saviour give you the joy of the Bethlehem shepherds, the awe of the sages and the humility of the holy family.

It is likely that by the time you read this message you will have sung a Christmas carol or two. There tend to be three kinds of carols. One is: “Isn’t it time we stopped and had a jolly good time?” This is the category of “We wish you a merry Christmas,” and “Santa Clause is coming to town.” Then there is the kind of carol that says, “Isn’t the baby sweet?” of which there are many including “Away in a manger” and “O little one sweet, O little one mild.” And then there are the carols that contain some pretty incomprehensible ideas that should have us trembling. You will be pleased to know that if, as Christians, we wish to keep a good Christmas, it is to these carols we need to turn.

Take, for example, verse two of “O Come all ye faithful”:
 

God of God,
Light of Light
Lo! He abhors not the Virgin’s womb;
Very God,
Begotten not created.

 
These are ancient words dating from the fourth century and that, amazingly, we are still singing today. They set out who is at the centre of the Christmas story. The answer, of course, is God. In the birth of Jesus, the life of the eternal God is born in time. The fourth century teachers of the faith were trying to explain how the life of God could flow into creation in human form, and yet leave God undiminished. The answer, they said, was like lighting a candle from another candle leaving the light of the first undiminished; “Light of Light”. A Christian Christmas celebrates God’s divine life coming into the world in a whole human life, hallowing our humanity, transforming creation, and uniting us to God.
 
At Christmas, then, we celebrate God being present in a new way. God’s way of making a difference is by living as humanly as you and I do. God doesn’t work by ‘breaking in’ to the world from the outside, but by filling it from within, by filling creation with the divine life of God, so that there is no place where God is absent. For in Jesus there is no gap where humanity stops, and God starts. The birth of Jesus, the birth of the divine life into our world, proclaims that all creation is soaked through with God’s life. The carol, “Hark the herald angels sing” puts it this way (using an inclusive language version): “Hail, the incarnate Deity, pleased in human form to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel.”
 
Jesus, however, is no superman. He is dependent. He weeps. He is tested. He faces death. His will sometimes wobbles, but the decisions are made, and his mission moves forward. In fact, the message of Christmas is that God takes massive risk to be in relationship with us, entrusting himself to unreliable human beings, to bring fullness of life and love into the world. In the birth of Jesus, God says, each human life is so valuable, that you and I are worth risking everything for, that there is no risk too great to take or gift too big to give to bring fullness of life to you and me. God thinks every single one of us can reflect the life and generosity of God and that each of us is worth risking everything for. Jesus is born into this world because God thinks our humanity, and the humanity of every person, is supremely worthwhile.
 
If we are to keep a good Christmas then, we have to ask hard questions of ourselves. Because if God thinks so highly of each person, how do I overcome my fears of those who are ‘other’ to me? How can I feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, give clothing to the naked, care for the sick, and visit those who are in prison? (Matt 25:34-36). For Christmas declares that God’s solidarity with us is so deep and total, that when we see Jesus in the manger, we not only see the fullness of God, but we see God valuing our humanity beyond our imagining.
 
And because of that, we come before the new-born Christ filled with wonder and awe, and with humble and repentant hearts.
 
May I take this opportunity to thank the Board and the Investment Committee of Anglican Financial Care, our new Chief Executive, Margaret Bearsley, and her team, for their amazing work supporting all of us this year. And may God give us all the gifts and the grace we need to keep a good Christmas.

The Very Rev’d Lawrence Kimberley
Chair of Anglican Financial Care
Dean of Christchurch

Investment Returns at 30 September 2021

Investment Returns at 30 September 2021

by | 9 Nov, 2021 | Investment

Investment returns (before tax and fees) for the quarter ending 30 September 2021 are:

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A mixed quarter as the economies continued to recover around the globe (albeit unevenly). Shares generally performed better than fixed interest investments (in an environment where there was some pressure on interest rates). COVID-19 and vaccine rollout progress continued to make headlines.

Markets reacted or were concerned about many things during the quarter including the outlook for inflation, the rate of China’s growth, volatility in energy and commodity prices.

The ongoing nature of US debt ceiling negotiations added to the uncertainty. In addition, government central banks shifted to a generally less supportive stance.

When news broke that the Chinese property developer Evergrande might be in trouble, tremors rippled through the markets. In this (more uncertain than usual) environment, we remain cautiously invested. We are invested, but diversified, across both share and fixed interest investments.

Understanding the Income Fund

Understanding the Income Fund

by | 9 Nov, 2021 | Investment, KiwiSaver

In a previous article we discussed what we mean by investment risk in a general sense. You can read that article again here. Understanding how much risk you are willing to take is usually a good way to figure out which KiwiSaver fund is right for you.

We continue this series of helping you get to know your KiwiSaver better. Let’s now look at our Income Fund.

This Fund invests in cash, term deposits, NZ bonds, overseas bonds and mortgages. Traditionally, this type of fund has been seen to be a lower risk investment with lower long-term returns.

The Income Fund is usually suited for members who need access to their money fairly soon or for those who prefer a somewhat consistent performance (rather than “bigger” increases/decreases in performance).

There are factors which affect the performance of this Fund which include:

  • Interest rates: This is the chance that changes in interest rates will affect an investment’s value. In the case of bonds, an increase in interest rates mean that the capital value of the bond will decrease.
  • Inflation: This is the chance that if returns are below the inflation rate, meaning the “purchasing power” of the money will decline.
  • Foreign exchange rates: This is the chance that the movement of the NZ dollar against other currencies will affect an investment’s value.
  • Costs: This is the chance that the cost of managing an investment could significantly affect the return from the investment.
  • Solvency/default: This is the chance that the financial institution or borrower is unable to repay some or all of the investment.

While the Income Fund is our lowest risk option, it does not mean that it is immune to negative returns. There can be occasions when a negative return is produced, particularly around interest rate changes. Historically, negative returns for the Income Fund happen less frequently than with the higher risk funds.

For more information about our Income Fund you can read more here. If you have specific financial questions or need financial advice, we encourage you to seek out a financial advisor.

Keep an eye out on our future newsletters as we continue to unpack your questions about KiwiSaver and help you get to know more about your investment.

Introducing Anglican Financial Care's new Chief Executive

Introducing Anglican Financial Care’s new Chief Executive

by | 9 Nov, 2021 | General

Anglican Financial Care (AFC) recently appointed Margaret Bearsley as Chief Executive. After being in the role for a month we decided to sit down and have a friendly Q&A with her.

What excites you about this role?

It completely aligns with my professional experience, my faith, and my skills and strengths! It means I get to work with other people with similar values to my own. Moreover, as a practising Roman Catholic, I am very excited by the ecumenical experience of Church that I am now living professionally. You know, we pray twice weekly with the team in the Anglican Missions Board—how ecumenical is that! I love it!

What are your biggest strengths?

First and foremost, my deep commitment to Christ and his Church. Secondly, my commitment to supporting the team. I believe profoundly in the strength of teams. In my view, if you have the right people doing the right job for the organisation, we can achieve anything! So, I love walking with my team-members and supporting each person to be and to do their best to achieve the organisation’s goals.

How has your first few weeks been?

It’s been a total joy to get to know the people here and the Board members. I have been well supported by the Board and by the team helping me to get up to speed. I can see how committed everybody is, and how competent everybody is in their role. So, it’s a real delight to come to an organisation that is functioning so well and thinking maybe I can help to achieve even more. Just to support what we’ve got and aim for the stars.

What is your vision for AFC?

To proclaim its Christian character as our competitive advantage, and to be seen to be serving the People of God, and all people of goodwill who want to align their saving and investment decisions with their values. And that’s us and that’s who we are.

Investment Returns at 30 June 2021

Investment Returns at 30 June 2021

by | 2 Aug, 2021 | Investment

Investment returns (before tax and fees) for the quarter ending 30 June 2021 are:

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This was another quarter of good returns with shares again putting in solid performances. As economies reopened and combined with positive economic news globally (though it was uneven across regions) many share markets continued to climb higher.

In addition, most Government owned central banks indicated that interest rates would remain low into the foreseeable future (but some added the proviso that their targeted short term cash rates may need to be raised sooner than first thought by them).

The solid rebound or growth was generally better than expected but considered by some to have been the result of significant Government support during the pandemic.

This had some investors concerned that continued large spending plans may lead to an overheated economy and or inflation. Despite the continued rollout of vaccinations around the globe concerns remain.

We continue remain invested and diversified. At the same time, we remain cautious given how fragile markets seem to us (i.e. the elevated nature, relative to historical records, of both share and bond prices).

What is ‘investment risk’?

What is ‘investment risk’?

by | 2 Aug, 2021 | Investment, KiwiSaver

For many investors “risk” is a scary word when it refers to their investments. A couple of sayings in the investment world are “no investment is without risk” and “investors who take on more risk expect to receive a higher level of return over time”. But what is risk in terms of your investments?

Investment risk is perhaps better called investment uncertainty. Put another way, risk is the chance that an investment’s actual outcome will differ from an expected outcome. The more likely it is that we can predict the future value of the investment, the lower the investment uncertainty (or the lower the risk).

Investments in income assets, like term deposits and bonds, are typically lower risk. We have a pretty good idea what the value will be when the investment matures.

In comparison, investments in growth assets, like shares in companies and property, are higher risk due to the uncertainty of knowing what the future value will be. The several funds within a KiwiSaver Scheme will usually consist of a mixture of these income and/or growth assets.

Here at Christian KiwiSaver Scheme, we have 3 funds for you to choose from: Income Fund, Balanced Fund and Growth Fund. The difference between these funds is the different mix of these investment assets e.g. The Income Fund is made up of only income assets, whereas the Growth Fund is made up of mostly growth assets.

You can choose which Fund – or which mix of funds – is right for you depending on what level your tolerance for risk is. For instance, you may decide to choose a fund that has smaller highs and lows, or you may decide you want a fund with potentially big highs and lows which you can tolerate over a longer time period.

Over the next few newsletters we will be covering more content such as this. We have received many great questions from our members trying to get to know their KiwiSaver better. We hope we can support your financial wellbeing by helping you understand more about your investment.