Summer Balanced Selection
Summary of investment objective and strategy
We aim to achieve long-term returns (before fees, taxes and other expenses) greater than a composite benchmark relating to the target investment mix.
Investors can expect:
- moderate to high levels of movement up and down in value
- longer-term returns that are higher than those of the Summer Conservative Selection (but with more risk), and lower than those of the Summer Growth Selection (but with less risk).
Strategic investment mix
| Category | % |
|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | 7.00% |
| International fixed interest | 19.00% |
| New Zealand fixed interest | 19.00% |
| Total income assets | 45% |
| Australasian equities | 20.00% |
| International equities | 30.00% |
| Listed property | 5.00% |
| Total growth assets | 55% |
| Total portfolio | 100% |
Tactical asset allocation
| Category | % |
|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | 4.50% |
| New Zealand fixed interest | 19.00% |
| International fixed interest | 19.00% |
| Total income assets | 42.5% |
| Australian equities | 8.50% |
| International equities | 28.00% |
| Listed property | 8.00% |
| New Zealand equities | 13.00% |
| Total growth assets | 57.5% |
| Total portfolio | 100% |
Risk indicator
The risk indicator is rated from 1 (low) to 7 (high). The rating reflects how much the value of the fund’s assets goes up and down (volatility). A higher risk generally means higher potential returns over time, but more ups and downs along the way.
* The composite benchmark for each multi-asset class fund is made up of the single asset class benchmarks weighted by the target asset allocation for the asset class.
Minimum suggested investment timeframe
At least five years.
Fund at a glance
Unit price (as at 31 October 2025): $1.7311
Date the fund started: 19 January 2016
Fund returns
| PIR | Total since inception (annualised) | 1 Month | 3 Month | 1 Year | 3 Years^ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.5% | 6.19% | 1.41% | 4.8% | 9.91% | 9.4% |
| 17.5% | 5.99% | 1.38% | 4.73% | 9.69% | 9.1% |
| 28% | 5.68% | 1.34% | 4.63% | 9.37% | 8.67% |
^ Annualised
Fund returns are calculated net of fund charges, trading expenses and accrued tax for a New Zealand resident individual paying tax at the Prescribed Investor Rate identified above.
Top 10 investments
| # | Asset name | % of fund net assets |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hunter Global Fixed interest Fund | 18.89% |
| 2 | Vanguard ESG US Stock ETF | 5.33% |
| 3 | Vanguard ESG International Stock ETF | 2.65% |
| 4 | Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited | 1.80% |
| 5 | New Zealand Government 1.5% 15/05/2031 | 1.77% |
| 6 | ANZ transactional bank account | 1.62% |
| 7 | Precinct Properties New Zealand Limited | 1.52% |
| 8 | Goodman Property Trust | 1.47% |
| 9 | Kiwi Property Group Limited | 1.29% |
| 10 | New Zealand Government 4.5% 15/05/2035 | 1.21% |
| Top 10 investments total | 37.55% | |
Portfolio Holdings
SummerBAL portfolio holdings data Sept2025
23 KB
Manager's Commentary
How did your portfolio perform?
The Balanced Fund delivered a return after fees and before tax of -0.07% for the month of November.
For the 12 months to the end of November, the Balanced Fund delivered a return after fees and before tax of 8.32%.
The New Zealand Equities, Global Equities and Enhanced Cash funds all produced a positive return in November. All funds beat their asset class benchmarks during the month, enabling the Balanced fund to produce a slightly positive return overall. For details on the Balanced Fund's single asset class funds, see the relevant fund commentary
We actively manage the fund’s foreign currency exposures and hedge the international fixed interest segment of the fund. The New Zealand dollar gained 0.24% against the US dollar and 0.07% against the Australian dollar.
What happened in the markets you invest in?
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) cut interest rates by 0.25% at its Monetary Policy Committee meeting in November and signalled a likely end to the interest rate cutting cycle. With an expectation of stronger economic growth next year and inflation still above the mid-point of the 1% to 3% range, longer-term interest rates rose.
New Zealand equities had a small reporting season, which was generally positive but not enough to offset the impact of rising interest rates on defensive sectors. Australian equities saw much stronger inflation and growth than expected, which was a headwind for overall market valuation. In global equities some of the riskier parts of the market – crypto assets, profitless tech companies and those with high gearing had a poor month, mostly offset by solid economic growth indicators. Listed property struggled on the back of capital raisings and rising longer term interest rates.
What are we thinking about the future?
Global risks continue to be elevated. Uncertainty is not new to our portfolio managers, and they actively adjust their portfolios as new information comes to hand.
With the NZ interest rate cutting cycle over, cash and fixed interest portfolios are likely to deliver more modest returns from here.
We remain attracted to NZ equities as the economic recovery begins to take hold and see listed property as attractively valued with reasonable future rental growth. The Australian economy is stronger than we anticipated which should see profits lift, but we see valuations as full, particularly in the very large banking sector. The global economy has withstood the trade war better than we anticipated from both a growth and employment perspective over the last six months.
On the back of this analysis, the Investment Committee met in November and chose to reduce our overweight in fixed interest back to neutral, whilst trimming the level of our underweight in global equities. We remain underweight global equities as valuations are very full, but some of the risks we saw to economic growth earlier in the year have moderated.