Investment | Christian Kiwisaver Scheme

Investment Returns at 30 September 2021

by Jamuel Enriquez | 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

by Jamuel Enriquez | 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.

Investment Returns at 30 June 2021

by Jamuel Enriquez | 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’?

by Jamuel Enriquez | 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.

Investment Returns at 31 March 2021

by Jamuel Enriquez | 4 May, 2021 | Investment

Investment returns (before tax and fees) for the quarter ending 31 March 2021 are:

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The returns for Funds with shares in them (Growth and Balanced) achieved solid results, particularly over the last 12 months. The run up in share prices over the quarter reflected increasing optimism with regards to the economic outlook, largely due to the progress of the vaccine rollout and the fact that some governments (and their central banks) announced ongoing support for the economy (this optimism was in spite of the varying COVID statuses around the world). The 12 month returns cover the period after the significant sell off that occurred in the March 2020 quarter. The OECD* and IMF** both increased their respective global growth forecasts in the quarter. However, as the growth outlook improved some investors became concerned about inflation and or interest rates in the future, and therefore longer term interest rates rose (i.e. bond prices fell). This held back overall returns but led to falls in the quarter for the Income Fund. With interest rates at lows and elevated share prices we remain cautiously invested (that said we should continue to benefit from any further improvement in the growth outlook).

*The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation that works to build better policies for better lives. Their goal is to shape policies that foster prosperity, equality, opportunity and well-being for all.

** The International Monetary Fund (IMF) promotes international financial stability and monetary cooperation. It also facilitates international trade, promotes employment and sustainable economic growth, and helps to reduce global poverty.

Investment Outlook for 2021

by Editor | 5 Feb, 2021 | Investment

It is always difficult to predict what is going to happen. Who would have predicted the pandemic, and the variety of responses, in 2020? Returns in 2021 are likely to be just as interesting. Events like the pandemic come and go but returns over the longer term are almost always positive. That said, and depending on your timeframe, the starting point is important.

Near term returns can move around a lot. They are very dependent on what governments and ‘experts’ say and do, and reactions to such. Governments are expected to keep interest rates low in the foreseeable future. They are hoping to fuel a recovery in earnings, which in turn should lead to employment and economic growth. Along with additional policy stimulus and increasing vaccination growth is expected to increase over time. On a positive note, the IMF (International Monetary Fund)¹ recently raised its global growth forecast for 2021 to 5.5% from the 5.2% it anticipated back in October.

However, given what is considered to be current, by historic measures, high prices in both shares and bonds (low-interest rates) performances in 2021 could be up or down. Issues or events that could affect this year include developments around US policy, ongoing tensions between the US and China, the approach towards Iran, the level of global trade and initiatives adopted that might address climate issues. On top of all that no doubt developments around the virus will continue to have a big impact. In this environment, it pays to tread carefully / invest wisely. Our strategy remains to endeavour to participate well in the current market rally, while still preserving some measure of downside protection against what we believe to be “frothy” markets.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organisation of 190 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.