INVESTOR HUB

The collapse of 67 finance companies between 2006 and 2012, with a corresponding loss of $3 billion, should forever serve as a reminder to investors about the risks of chasing yield. But in the current low interest environment, this temptation could once again rear its ugly head.

US corporate earnings were front and centre for investors during the month, with the majority of S&P500 companies reporting earnings comfortably above expectations. In Europe however, the outlook continues to deteriorate, which was reflected in the performance of most EU sharemarkets. At home, NZ was once again one of the top performing developed markets in the world, largely thanks to index heavyweight a2 Milk.

Last week the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) surprised the market by cutting the official cash rate (OCR) by 0.5% to a new all-time low of 1%. Most economists were expecting this level to be reached this year, but not in one go, and now the natural question is whether this will go even lower in the coming months.

Ethical or socially responsible investing continues to gather attention both internationally and in our corner of the world.

However, as QuayStreet Asset Management Portfolio Manager Stefan Stevanovic explains “despite the topic of socially responsible investing often resurfacing and attracting attention, the actual amount of money allocated to socially responsible investment funds still remains very low.”