INVESTOR HUB

Global equities made a strong start to 2019 from what was a very dire finish last year. The NZ and Australian market also had a solid first month, although NZ lagged behind other developed world markets. 

Extreme bouts of volatility hit international markets in December. Record moves were caused by a plethora of headlines around global trade wars, Fed’s policy direction, troubling tweets and the re-emergence of the recession signal. Closer to home NZ held up well against the tumultuous conditions in global markets.

The MSCI World Benchmark Index fell -3.9% in November in NZ dollar terms. This followed the weak performance of most major sharemarkets in October. The New Zealand sharemarket broadly followed global trends, albeit with a bit less volatility and the Australian sharemarket declined for the third consecutive month. 

New Zealand can be justifiably proud of its reputation of having some of the highest levels of social standards and human freedom in the world. Our country frequently top global surveys as one of the most liveable places to live. It's not surprising that many New Zealanders have high ethical considerations when it comes to where their money is being invested. 

So, how does SRI investment strategies perform compared to conventional investment strategies?

In recent weeks global markets have seen some serious volatility, starting in the US and filtering through to our local market. Last time we saw these kinds of market movements was in February this year. So how should investors handle the latest bout of volatility?