Introducing a refreshed set of investment beliefs

Our investment beliefs provide a clear framework for making investment decisions that focus on delivering long-term returns and value for the fees you pay. They ensure consistency and transparency in our decision-making process. By incorporating a diverse mix of investments, we enhance the resilience of your investment, making it more likely to achieve the objective of your investments over time.

We invest with confidence, guided by strategies with proven track records and clear drivers of returns. Our approach is also highly adaptable, allowing us to choose how active we want to be based on market conditions. This flexibility allows us to leverage the expertise of our active managers, as they seek opportunities to maximise returns and manage risks. 

While we’re a large player in the New Zealand market, there are global experts with specialised skills that can enhance our capabilities. We strategically partner with top investment managers and service providers to complement our own expertise, ensuring we deliver outcomes for you.

Our refreshed investment beliefs are not just theoretical. They actively shape our decisions. Here are recent examples of how our updated beliefs have driven changes to the way we manage your investment.

One of our beliefs focuses on investment style, reflecting our view that there are many ways to outperform markets and, dependent on the market, certain investment styles (or a combination of styles) provide a better outlook for returns. 

We therefore actively choose how to implement the investments we select. For example, in international equities, we use a blend of managers, who specialise in  active stock-picking, and systematic approaches. We believe this blend provides more confidence in delivering consistent returns whilst minimising extreme ups and downs. In contrast, we only use active stock-picking managers  in other asset classes such as Australian equities, listed international infrastructure, and listed property. Here, our managers bring expertise crucial for navigating the unique characteristics of these markets, ensuring we can capitalise on opportunities and target an enhanced return above the market.

Another of our beliefs focuses on investment risk management. Our regular monitoring of managers alerted us to the need for a change to our Australian equity holdings, leading us to replace Tyndall Asset Management with Pendal Group. 

This decision reflects our proactive approach to risk management and our commitment to selecting managers who can deliver value for the risk taken. Pendal Group's strong track record and responsible investment focus also align with our belief in partnering with managers who have deep market knowledge and robust risk management practices.

We have made other changes consistent with our investment beliefs, such as:

• Changing the benchmark for our international sovereign fixed interest holdings, managed by Northern Trust
• Broadening the investment mandate of our international aggregate fixed interest manager, PIMCO.

We invite you to speak with your Private Banker to learn more about our refreshed beliefs, how they can benefit your investment, and why they are important. They can also take you through some of the recent changes we have made to your investment.