Market & Portfolio Update - October 2018
Market & Portfolio Update - October 2018
Share markets continued their 2017 ascension during October, with a moderate 3% gain boosted further by the New Zealand Dollar falling 5%. For New Zealand investors, the fall in our local currency reinforces the diversification benefits of holding foreign investments, which rise in value when the currency falls.
While exchange rate changes have featured this month, the real story driving markets is global economic growth continuing to expand all around the world. This is one of the pillars supporting global share markets’ good performance since the start of the year.
With many investors globally remaining arguably too cautious about the current economic expansion, we have, in the vein of Warren Buffett, slightly increased funds’ global share investments during the month of October.
Disclaimer: This article has been prepared for the purpose of providing general information, without taking into consideration any particular investor’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Any opinions contained in it are held as at the report date and are subject to change without notice.
Market & Portfolio Update - April 2022
Global share markets continued their choppy start to 2022 during April.For New Zealand based investors, a fall in the NZ dollar played an important role in helping offset the volatility global share markets experienced. The NZ dollar fell against most major currencies supporting the returns of unhedged overseas assets (assets that are free to move with exchange rates). As a result, ‘unhedged’ overseas investments fell by only 1.8% for NZ based investors.
The KiwiSaver Gender Divide – Why are women saving less and what can be done to combat this?
Recent data shows that, on average, women have 20% less in their KiwiSavers than men. The gap being at its largest between men and women in their 40s and 50s. There are a few factors that come into play causing this divide and although it will take years to achieve equality, there are ways in which we can be proactive to help close the gap. As of August 2021, the gender pay gap is at 9.1% in New Zealand, a decrease of about 0.4% from 2020’s stats.