Summer Conservative Selection

Summer Conservative Selection fund performance summary as at 31 January 2024

Fund at a glance

Unit price (as at 31 January 2024): $1.1292

Date the fund started: 8 April 2019

For information on fees, see our Fees page.

For more information on the Summer Conservative Selection fund read the latest quarterly fund update and the product disclosure statement

For the current tactical asset allocation and date of most recent review, please go to the Summer Conservative Selection page.

Fund objective and strategy

See the Summer Conservative Selection page for the Summary of investment objective and strategy.

Fund returns

PIR Total since inception (annualised) 1 Month 3 Month 1 Year 3 Years^
28% 2.23% 0.36% 5.66% 4.74% 0.53%
17.50% 2.44% 0.33% 6.05% 5.20% 0.64%
10.50% 2.58% 0.31% 6.31% 5.51% 0.71%

    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  22.17%
2 ANZ transactional bank account 4.19%
3 Intermede Global Equity Fund 3.35%
4 New Zealand Government 3% 20/04/2029 2.11%
5 Westpac New Zealand 1.439% 24/02/2026 1.92%
6 New Zealand Government 15/05/2032 2.00% 1.33%
7 New Zealand Government 14/04/2033 3.5% 1.28%
8 New Zealand Government 4.50% 15/05/2030 1.16%
9 New Zealand Local Government Funding Agency Ltd 15/04/2027 4.50% 1.11%
10 New Zealand Local Government Funding Agency Ltd 14/04/2033 3.50% 1.08%

The top 10 investments make up 39.71% of the fund.

Manager's Commentary

What happened in the markets you invest in?

Equity markets continued their positive run in January, notching up three months of gains in a row. They achieved this despite interest rates climbing slightly over the month. Interest rates are still well below the peaks seen in October 2023, despite their under-performance this month. Fixed income markets, which just under half of the Income Fund is exposed to, recorded modest losses due to the slight rise in interest rates. 

Economic resilience in the US continues to outshine most other regions. China is the second largest economy in the world after the US, but its economy continues to struggle with a weak property market and slower global growth. This has been reflected in very weak returns from their share market. Valuations appear attractive on the surface, but regulatory changes have created considerable uncertainty for investors. 

The international fixed interest portion of the Conservative selection is hedged to the New Zealand dollar. The fund’s currency exposure to the Australian dollar comes from investing in the Australian equities and Listed Property funds. The New Zealand dollar rose 0.36% against the Australian dollar during January. 

For further commentary on each asset class in the Conservative selection, refer to the relevant single-asset class funds.

How did your portfolio perform?

The Conservative selection delivered a return net of fees and before tax of 0.28% for January. For the 12 months to the end of January, the fund delivered a return net of fees and before tax of 5.97%.  

Compared to their market indices, all funds we utilise in the Conservative selection outperformed their market index during January, except for the Cash and New Zealand and Global Fixed Interest portfolios. Just over one-third (37%) of the fund is invested in directly held Australasian equities. NZ Rural Land Co, IAG and Ebos Group added to performance, but not enough to off-set the drag on performance from the directly held shares in AGL Energy, Oceania Healthcare, and KMD Brands.  

We actively manage the fund’s currency exposures. As of 31 January 2024, these exposures represented 17.87% of the value of the fund. After allowing for foreign currency hedges in place, approximately 9.26% of the value of the fund was unhedged and exposed to foreign currency risk. 

We calculate the current running yield of the securities held within the Conservative selection as 5.01%. 

What are we thinking about the future?

Strong US equity market returns in January, achieved without support from falling interest rates, have in our opinion pushed that market significantly above fair value. Other global equity markets continue to offer better value, despite their economies not being as strong as that of the US.  

Despite a negative return from fixed interest over the month, we think attractive returns are possible as inflation continues to fall, with the added downside protection of even stronger returns if parts of the global economy fall into recession. Our base case is that there is no general or deep recession globally, but that downside can’t be ruled out.  

The next few months will be critical for markets. The last of the pandemic supports from government payments should fade just as the lagged impact of rising interest rates reaches its peak. For example, if you took out a two-year mortgage in NZ at the start of 2022, you will be resetting your payments at a rate around 2% higher this quarter, even as longer-term rates are now well off their recent peaks. 

 

This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any financial product and does not take your personal circumstances into account. All opinions reflect our judgement on the date of communication and may change without notice. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance. We recommend you take financial advice before making investment decisions. We have prepared this web page in good faith based on information obtained from other sources, but we do not guarantee the accuracy of that information. We do not make any representation or warranty (express or implied) that this web page is accurate, complete, or current and to the maximum extent permitted by law disclaim any liability for loss which may be incurred by any person relying on this web page.