When markets turn volatile, it’s natural to feel uneasy as your KiwiSaver balance dips. But what does volatility really mean, and how can you confidently navigate changing market cycles? Milford Investor Services Senior Associate Maddie Cruickshank joins Ryan Bridge to discuss how to stay the course.

Click here to download the MP3 file or listen to the podcast on your favourite platform:

Bridge talks Business: 7 April 2026
Episode Transcript

Ryan Bridge
Kia ora and welcome to episode 70 of Bridge talks Business with Milford. One of the most interesting features of the war in Iran, I think, and the oil price shock that’s resulted, is how relatively calm markets have been in response. It might be that investors are used to Trump’s shocks and threats and tactics, or that there’s actually good economic data coming out about the US economy despite all the hectic headlines about war. Today, how to not panic in a crisis. First, here’s your top five business bits from the last seven days.

1. US forces entered Iran to retrieve one of their own, and markets continued to be volatile as they digested these headlines and managed to post positive returns for the first time in five weeks.
2. We saw the start of government responses to the oil crisis last week, the Aussies halved petrol excise. The expectation is we will continue to see more announcements – a rolling maul from governments around fuel rationing and potentially providing support to consumers in the face of high energy costs.
3. We received US non-farm payroll data last week. The numbers very strong with job gains in March coming in more than double the market consensus, with strong breadth across many industries too.
4. The RBA minutes were released last week which painted a less hawkish picture than was expected. This potentially means a May hike is not a done deal, but a lot of uncertainties to go under the bridge here.
5. And finally market focus will be on Trump’s deadline for Iran which ends 12pm New Zealand time Wednesday. Domestically, we get the Reserve Bank a little look-see at how they’re viewing the conflict in Iran and how that might play out domestically in New Zealand.

Alright, it is time for this week’s feature interview. There was a very famous investor who once said that the organ you need most when making investment decisions is not the head, it’s not the heart, it’s the stomach. And lately we’ve seen a lot of volatility on global markets. This is because of what’s happening in the Middle East and what’s coming out of the White House. So this week I want to talk to Maddie Cruikshank, a Senior Associate at Investor Services at Milford, talking about volatility and playing a long-term game. Just a reminder, this segment is informational only and should not be considered financial advice. Maddie, great to see you. Welcome back.

Maddie Cruickshank
Hi, thanks for having me.

Ryan Bridge
Look, it’s been a year.

Maddie Cruickshank
I know. Doesn’t time fly.

Ryan Bridge
I thought it’s about time to get you back on. And today, there’s a good reason, of course. We’re talking about volatility. A lot of volatility in the market at the moment. You know, people are looking at their KiwiSaver balances going, “It’s going down” – for some people. It is a hard time not to freak out if it’s your money that’s invested, right?

Maddie Cruickshank
Of course, yeah. Market volatility is something that we are seeing more of at the moment. And I will acknowledge it as an uncomfortable feeling. You know, no one likes to see their balance go down. And ultimately, it is your hard working money that you’re watching go down. But with KiwiSaver, you know, we do try and get clients to remember that this is a long-term strategy. So, what you’re seeing now shouldn’t be too much of a worry if you are saving for retirement and you have that healthy long investment timeframe.

Ryan Bridge
Because, yeah, short-term blips up and down, this is not unusual. Like, we’ve been here before, right?

Maddie Cruickshank
We have. And, you know, we’re always going to see something that is going to make the markets go down. And obviously, the media can really emphasise on that and make people panic too.

Ryan Bridge
That’s us. We’re basically panic merchants.

Maddie Cruickshank
No, we’re doing the opposite. We’re calming people.

Ryan Bridge
Well, this is the thing. I mean, if you look at it through history, they go up, they go down. But on the whole, the investments have been worth it.

Maddie Cruickshank
Trending upwards as well, yeah. And, you know, if you do zoom the camera out and you look at it from that long-term perspective, it is a bit of a rollercoaster with the trend going upwards over that long-term.

Ryan Bridge
So what does Milford say at a time like this, you know, when people are perhaps a little worried?

Maddie Cruickshank
So one of the things that we do, you know, tell clients to maybe step back a little bit from, is checking your balance daily. Like, we’re a creature of habit. We like to log in and see how our money is tracking. But that can give us that knee-jerk reaction of panic. So if you can kind of push it out to maybe weekly, monthly, quarterly, and then you may not panic so much, but when we’re logging in daily, that is going to create that cause for panic. And focusing on what’s happening day-to-day shouldn’t be too much of a concern if you’ve got, you know, 20, 30 years ahead of you.

Ryan Bridge
Alright Maddie, so what about the people who look at what’s happening in the market and think, “Well, I need to switch funds. Like I’m in a Conservative. Maybe I’ll go into a Growth. I’m in a Growth. I’ll go into a Conservative. I could make more money that way”.

Maddie Cruickshank
So when you do that, you will effectively crystallise and lock in any losses that the Fund has made. And why that is, is because you’re selling the units at a cheaper price. Then when you see markets going back up again, people jump back in and they’re buying the units at a higher price. So you’re going to have less. Where if you had of stayed put, when markets correct themselves and go back up, you get to benefit from that correction. And what people don’t realise is, when they see the performance going back up, they’ve actually missed that because it’s not live. But in saying that, if you’re not comfortable seeing your balance go down and you don’t want it to go down any further, then of course you can switch. Or some people look at it as a great opportunity to put more money in and take advantage of a lower unit price.

Ryan Bridge
Maddie, so instead of hitting the panic button, going full panic stations and trying to switch your Funds, what else can we do? What action can we take to reassure ourselves?

Maddie Cruickshank
So the first step would be stop. Don’t panic. Instead, you should revisit why you originally chose this Fund. Has your investment timeframe changed and has your risk tolerance changed? With that, you can then analyse and understand, no, I am still in the right fund for me. Or if you’re going through those questions and you notice something has changed, that’s where it would be best to get in touch, revisit getting advice, which is free, and finding out what Fund you should now be in.

Ryan Bridge
And what about just finally wrapping up an overall kind of view for us? When things get volatile, the instinct is to maybe freak out. So what is your message for us on that front?

Maddie Cruickshank
So my message for people would be volatility is normal. This isn’t the first time we’ve been here before. Don’t panic. Trust the experts. This is why you’ve chosen Milford as your investment company, is we know what we’re doing in times like this and we want you to stop doing quick reactions. So if you are nervous, get in touch. We’re here to have those conversations with you and maybe stop checking that balance daily as well.

Ryan Bridge
Alright Maddie, good to see you. Thanks so much for being with me again. That was Maddie Cruikshank, who is with Milford in their Investor Services team, Senior Associate there, talking to us about market volatility and playing the long game with KiwiSaver, which is what we’re all doing at the end of the day. Just a reminder, you can like, follow and subscribe this podcast wherever you like to listen. We appreciate you doing so, and don’t forget until next week to invest in yourselves.

Missed previous episode? Don’t worry! Click here to catch up now.