ANZ Default KiwiSaver Scheme High Growth Fund

Performance is after the annual fund charge and before tax. Rates, fees and agreements.

• The fund invests predominantly in growth assets, including international and domestic shares, listed property and infrastructure investments, but does hold very small allocations to bonds.
• International shares had a stellar first quarter of the year, with several share markets in the US, Europe and Asia reaching record highs. The market continued to react enthusiastically to positive financial reports from many information technology and consumer services heavyweights, with the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) being a core theme for investors.
  
• In the US, the S&P 500 Index rose 10.6%, but the European and Japanese markets were standout performers. The Euro Stoxx 50 Index rose 12.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose 21.5%, helped by a revitalisation of its economy, which has been stuck in a deflationary spiral for the last decade.
  
• While the New Zealand share market also delivered gains, it underperformed many of its international counterparts. The NZX 50 Index finished the quarter 2.8% higher, but ongoing inflation concerns, and a downbeat earnings season saw its gains muted.
  
• Meanwhile, international bonds were unchanged, while New Zealand bonds were lower – despite the Reserve Bank of New Zealand leaving interest rates unchanged and as economic growth data revealed the country fell into recession in the second half of last year.
  
• Although the fund delivered a positive return over the quarter, its tactical positioning held back performance, as it was overweight to weaker-performing bonds, and underweight to stronger-performing international equities.
  
• It was also a challenging period for our underlying international share managers, with three out of four of them underperforming the market. An underweight to the information technology and communications services sectors was particularly detrimental, given strong performances from some of the companies within these sectors. However, strong company selection within both our New Zealand share and international listed property holdings were positive factors.
  
• We maintain our underweight to international shares, and overweight to domestic and international fixed interest. This reflects our belief that the global economy will continue to slow in the coming months, dragged down by the flow-on effect of high interest rates. While the resilience of the US economic may mean it’s able to push out a recession – or avoid one altogether – our view is other regions will continue to slow, and so we remain defensively positioned.
  

The High Growth Fund has no historical performance as yet, having only launched on 3 August 2023.

The fund aims to achieve (after the fund charge and before tax) over the long term higher returns, allowing for larger ups and downs in value.

The fund invests in growth assets (equities, listed property and listed infrastructure), with a very small exposure to income assets (cash and cash equivalents and fixed interest). The fund may also invest in alternative assets.