Welcome to your investor update. This series is to keep you up to date on the scheme, the markets, and investment topics to help you get the most out of your KiwiSaver investment.
In this edition, we have a message from our CEO as we take a look back at 2023.
Taking the long view
While the year isn’t quite over yet, the welcome sight of the holiday season is on the horizon which tends to see us reflecting on the year that was. It’s been a good year for the Lifestages KiwiSaver Scheme with the High Growth Fund delivering just north of 10% for the past 12 months (see table below).
As is always the case with investing, looking over a longer timeframe tends to drown out a lot of the noise that happens throughout the year. If we take a step back and look at annualised 5 year returns (see further down), what we see is steady, long-term performance. We could be forgiven for forgetting that over this period there has been multiple market disruptions of varying severity, COVID and Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine to name a few.
This kind of long-term perspective is really at the core of our investment approach and something you will have heard us talk about a lot, especially if you have utilised our advice service. We look past the immediate noise and focus on the big picture investment themes that deliver sustainable long-term performance and help you reach your goals.
This is also a practice you as an individual investor can keep in mind as you save towards your investment goals. As a rule of thumb, unless something about your personal circumstances or your goals has changed significantly, sticking to your original plan tends to be the right move. This is why we encourage you to check in with yourself and our team at least once a year – even if just to check your plan is working for you.
It has been a privilege to look after your investments this year. So, from myself and all the team at SBS Wealth and Lifestages, thank you for your ongoing support and have a fantastic holiday season.
Morne Redgard
CEO
Performance Data
The Lifestages Auto Options invest in combinations of the Lifestages High Growth Fund and the Lifestages Income Fund in proportions that vary in accordance with pre-selected age bands. These options automatically adjust the risk profile of your investment by altering the proportions invested into the funds based on your age.
Performance as at 30 November 2023.
| Fund Option | 1M | 1Y | 5Y pa |
| High Growth Fund | 5.48% | 10.67% | 7.47% |
| Auto 0-49 Option | 5.48% | 10.67% | 7.47% |
| Auto 50-54 Option | 4.90% | 9.03% | 6.20% |
| Auto 55-59 Option | 4.33% | 7.37% | 4.86% |
| Auto 60-64 Option | 3.75% | 5.71% | 3.48% |
| Auto 65+ Option | 3.47% | 4.87% | 2.50% |
| Income Fund | 2.61% | 2.37% | 0.62% |
For more information about how performance is calculated and more performance periods, click here.
Market Update
November was an excellent month for investment markets. The share market, measured by MSCI World Index, had one of its best months since 1969. Fixed interest, measured by the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index Hedged into NZD, was up 3%.
Investors have become increasingly positive, as an outright US recession remains unlikely, driving share market prices higher. Some of the top performers within our scheme in November were in the Healthcare sector (Fisher & Paykel Healthcare +13%, CSL +11%), the Technology sector (iShares Automation & Robotics +10%, iShares Digitalisation +9%, Nvidia +8%), Tesla +13% and the Industrial sector (Mainfreight +18%, Schneider Electric +13%).
Central banks have stopped raising interest rates and this has been taken very positively by bond markets, with prices gaining back some of the unrealised capital losses from earlier in the year.