Summer New Zealand Equities
Summary of investment objective and strategy
To achieve long-term returns (before fees, taxes and other expenses) greater than the S&P/NZX50 Gross with Imputation Index.
These investments typically have high levels of movement up and down in value.
Strategic investment mix
| Category | % |
|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | 5.00% |
| New Zealand fixed interest | 0.00% |
| International fixed interest | 0.00% |
| Total income assets | 5% |
| Australasian equities | 85.00% |
| Listed property | 10.00% |
| International equities | 0.00% |
| Total growth assets | 95% |
| 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 28 February 2026): $1.9152
Date the fund started: 18 October 2019
Fund returns
| PIR | Total since inception^ | 1 Month | 3 Month | 1 Year | 3 Years^ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28% | 7.15% | 1.11% | 1.09% | 9.90% | 4.39% |
^ 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 | Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited | 14.56% |
| 2 | Auckland International Airport Limited | 8.08% |
| 3 | Infratil Limited | 6.30% |
| 4 | Contact Energy Limited | 5.03% |
| 5 | Spark New Zealand Limited | 4.87% |
| 6 | Ebos Group Limited | 4.68% |
| 7 | Meridian Energy Limited | 4.21% |
| 8 | Mainfreight Limited | 4.05% |
| 9 | The a2 Milk Company Limited | 3.63% |
| 10 | SKYCITY Entertainment Group Limited | 2.82% |
| Top 10 investments total | 58.23% | |
Manager's Commentary
How did your portfolio perform?
The Summer New Zealand Equities Fund (the fund) delivered a return after fees and before tax of 1.16% during February. For the 12 months to the end of February, the fund delivered a return after fees and before tax of 10.94%.
Key positive contributors to performance in February were our underweights in Precinct Properties and Serko, along with our overweight's in Micheal Hill (MHJ). Precinct’s result highlighted greater earnings volatility under their new operating model, whilst Serko was caught up in the decline of stocks globally based on risks of competition from AI models like Chat GPT and Claude. MHJ delivered a strong result and encouraging sales momentum into the second half.
Key detractors from performance in February were our overweight in Sky City and underweights in A2 Milk and Auckland Airport (AIA). In all three cases results were largely in line with our expectations, yet A2 Milk and AIA rallied over 10% as investors took a more positive view of the future. In Sky City’s case, reliance on a big profit uplift in the second half of the year were greeted with scepticism by investors.
What happened in the markets you invest in?
The February reporting season was the most positive in three years, yet guidance for the period ahead was still balanced. The acceleration in sales needed to drive strong uplifts in profits is still not evident, particularly for the construction and aged care sectors.
Calendar year 2025 delivered strong operating and share price performance for many mid-sized companies. February results supported that performance but was not strong enough to upgrade profit expectations in the short term. Fonterra, Heartland (HGH) and Tower (TWR) are amongst that group.
The recovery in earnings for the electricity sector after a very dry 2025 was also confirmed. Both Contact and Genesis raised new equity to help finance their new build programmes. At close to $1billion, this put short-term pressure on the market as investors raised funds to participate.
What are we thinking about the future?
We were pleased with how reporting season played out for our key positions, despite the portfolio underperforming over the month. In our view, FPH was the largest positive surprise during the month, but we remain comfortable with our underweight position give the valuation implies many more years of very strong growth.
The market is rewarding delivery, rather than promise, after a three-year period of disappointments. Perhaps the best example of this was Michael Hill, which is delivering positive sales growth after a tough time. The share price has rallied 40% from extremely low levels in three months. We identified an attractive valuation opportunity early and MHJ was a drag on performance in 2025. It has more than made that up in the first two month of 2026.
We continue to see attractive opportunities across all sectors of the market, with more upside in long held companies such as Tower, Sky Tv and Sky City, along with more recent additions like Heartland and Tourism holdings.