Summer Global Equities
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 risk indicator is based on the returns data for the five years to 31 March 2026.
* 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.
Summary of investment objective and strategy
To achieve long-term returns (before fees, taxes and other expenses) greater than MSCI ACWI Net Total Return Index, 50% hedged to the New Zealand dollar.
These investments typically have high levels of movement up and down in value.
Strategic investment mix
| Category | % |
|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | 10.00% |
| New Zealand fixed interest | 0.00% |
| International fixed interest | 0.00% |
| Total income assets | 10% |
| Australasian equities | 0.00% |
| Listed property | 0.00% |
| International equities | 90.00% |
| Total growth assets | 90% |
| Total portfolio | 100% |
Minimum suggested investment timeframe
Fund at a glance
Unit price (as at 30 April 2026): $2.5325
Date the fund started: 19 September 2016
Fund returns
| PIR | 1 Month | 3 Month | 1 Year | 3 Years^ | Total since inception^ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28% | 3.94% | 2.12% | 17.99% | 15.09% | 9.67% |
^ 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 | Microsoft Corporation | 3.93% |
| 2 | Alphabet Inc. Class A | 3.57% |
| 3 | Apple Inc. | 2.17% |
| 4 | Nvidia Corporation | 1.80% |
| 5 | Amazon.com Inc. | 1.78% |
| 6 | Mastercard Inc. | 1.73% |
| 7 | Uber Technologies Inc | 1.55% |
| 8 | Boston Scientific Corp | 1.39% |
| 9 | Nestle S.A. | 1.38% |
| 10 | BNZ Transactional Account NZD | 1.34% |
| Top 10 investments total | 20.64% | |
Portfolio Holdings
SummerGE portfolio holdings data Sept2025
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Manager's Commentary
How did your portfolio perform?
The Summer Global Equities Fund (the fund) delivered a return after fees and before tax of 4.34% during April. For the 12 months to the end of April, the fund delivered a return after fees and before tax of 18.28%.
Markets rallied strongly immediately after the ceasefire was announced in the US & Israel / Iran war. The breadth of the rally was driven by a rotation back into IT stocks, away from healthcare and pharmaceuticals. Growth factors returned 12.4%, compared with just 7.2% for value stocks, reflecting renewed risk-on appetite for stocks leveraged to the AI capex cycle.
All three managers in the fund underperformed due to overweight exposures to Europe and Japan and an underweight to the US. Te Ahumairangi was also underweight in key semiconductor names, whilst the Wealth Management and Global Factor portfolios were impacted by the healthcare sell-off and underweight exposure to technology generally.
In January this year the fund switched to a core, global factor portfolio to enhance our multi-manager approach. The global factor portfolio builds stock positions based on strong cash-flow generation and robust earnings fundamentals. Combined with market-reaction factors, these positions are optimised to create a diversified portfolio with a clear focus on risk control. More detail about the new Octagon Global Factors Portfolio can be found on the GEF page: Global Equities Fund - Octagon Asset Management.
We actively manage the Fund’s foreign currency exposures. During the month, the New Zealand dollar strengthened 2.82% against the US dollar, 1.25% against the Euro and 1.45% against Japanese yen. Active hedging added value to the overall portfolio performance for the month.
What happened in the markets you invest in?
Global equities staged a powerful risk-on rally soon after the US and Iran agreed to enter negotiations. Within the developed markets the US led, with the S&P500 returning 10.5%, whilst combined emerging markets were up 14.7%.
Japan’s Topix index gained 6.6% and MSCI Europe index lagged with 5.7% return, as fears of downstream supply shocks from oil markets continue to weigh on the Eurozone economy.
The US earnings season has also been strong, with the upgrade cycle remaining intact. AI earnings revisions are at record highs, and cyclicals have also been solid despite war-related disruptions. More than three quarter of the S&P500’s market cap has now reported at the time of writing, with beat-to-miss ratios above the historical average.
What are we thinking about the future?
April undid a solid first quarter of performance for the fund. We were positioned defensively against a volatile market environment and stretched valuations. The fund was also overweight in our minimum volatility strategy. The strong rally on the announced ceasefire (but no peace deal) surprised us.
The earnings season continues to see earnings revisions, with valuations entering “new paradigm” levels for the AI leaders, in our view. They are growing rapidly and are very profitable, making it tough competition for the rest of the market to keep up.
Ever rising profit margins and returns on capital are supportive of higher valuations, but we have been through productivity and new technology driven growth before. In every single case, high margins have eventually been competed away. Whilst we see no sign of a slowing right now, we remain on the lookout for signs that competition will erode returns of these extremely profitable companies.
Over the past two months we have increased our allocation to the Global Factor Portfolio to 30%. This move has been fully funded by reducing holdings with transition managers. This shift enhances our exposure to the core market strategy with further TAA rebalances to come.