InvestNow News – 13th Mar 20 – Salt – Feb 2020 Performance Update – Salt Dividend & Property Funds

NZ’s S&P/NZX50 Gross Index fell -3.9% in February.  The falls were led by Synlait (SML -32%) on weak guidance, NZ Refining (NZR -25%) on weak refining margins in Asia and Sky Television (SKT -22%) on further subscriber losses and an increasingly stretched balance sheet. The Fund marginally outperformed its benchmark in February, returning -3.81%. The largest tailwinds for the Fund unsurprisingly came from underweights in some of the expensive under-performers. These included Ryman Healthcare (RYM, -7.5%), Port of Tauranga (POT, -13.6%), Auckland International Airport (AIA, -9.0%), Meridian Energy (MEL, -13.6%) and Freightways (FRE, -15.7%).

For more detail, the latest Salt Dividend Appreciation Fund fact sheet can be found here.

In the face of gathering coronavirus fears, the S&P/NZX All Real Estate Gross Index fell by -1.92% in the month of February. This was significantly better than offshore property markets, with the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Index plunging by -8.7% and the S&P/ASX200 A-REIT Accumulation Index falling by -4.9%. The Fund slightly underperformed in the month of February, returning -2.26%.  In a sharply negative month for the market, negative contributions were unsurprisingly led by our larger overweight positions. Investore (IPL, -4.6%) was a large headwind despite being theoretically well positioned with short debt duration relative to very long lease terms and rental income that should prove resilient.

For more detail, the latest Salt Enhanced Property Fund fact sheet can be found here.