I hope you are all staying safe and managing well in your bubbles as we navigate another series of lockdowns. This latest Covid-19 outbreak did have a sense of inevitability about it. It felt as though it was a matter of when, not if.
As disruptive and frustrating as lockdowns are, we seem to have become much better at managing with them and just getting on with it. Many companies are also well practised now at ‘pivoting’ to online sales and having staff WFH (work from home). Technology has been a fantastic enabler on that front. However, there are many businesses and industries who can’t adapt as easily and we really feel for them, so the sooner we can move down alert levels the better for us all.
Financial markets do not like uncertainty. But New Zealand’s latest lockdown has not seen the same panicked reaction on the local share market that we saw in March last year when the NZX50 fell by more than 25% (global share markets fell by up to 30% in response to the global Covid-19 fallout). In fact, in the past 2 weeks the NZ share market has reached a new six-month high and major share markets in the US and Australia have reached new all-time highs; another signal that markets and investors are now used to dealing with the pandemic and are taking it in their stride.
Last March across all KiwiSaver funds and providers $1.5 billion was switched to cash and conservative funds, as members worried about falling markets and this new thing called Covid-19. We have not seen panic switching this time around, helped by stable markets and maybe better educated members. We can’t say the same for the panic at supermarkets and stocking up on toilet roll. I’m afraid I have no answers for that!
At Milford we continue to work hard (from home at present) on managing your hard earned KiwiSaver money. The team are well set up and able to continue making the best investment decisions on your behalf. And a reminder that if you are feeling uncertain about your fund choice or appetite for risk, we have the Milford KiwiSaver Plan Digital Advice Tool available via your client portal and now also on the Milford mobile App (Apple version. Android version coming soon).
Milford KiwiSaver Plan Funds Consistently Top Ranked
We are very pleased to see your Milford KiwiSaver Plan funds ranking as the top performing in their categories out of all KiwiSaver funds over the past five and ten years, as covered by the Morningstar KiwiSaver Survey June Quarter 2021. Remember we invest in the same funds alongside you, so we are as motivated as you are to see our funds remain top ranking.
Below is a summary of Milford’s diversified KiwiSaver funds and their ranking to 30 June.
Stay safe everyone and thank you for choosing Milford to manage your KiwiSaver funds.