InvestNow Market Wrap-Up: April 2025

Introducing Padraig Brown, Chief Investment Officer at Mercer (N.Z.) Limited (Mercer), this month’s guest author of the InvestNow Market Wrap-Up.

Introduction

The start of 2025 has been marked by considerable economic, geopolitical, and market instability in the United States. A combination of slowing economic indicators, escalating global tensions, and rising policy uncertainty has led to a reversal of the equity strength seen following Trump’s election win. This has resulted in heightened market volatility, declining US Treasury […]

InvestNow Market Wrap-Up: March 2025

Introducing Stuart Millar, Chief Investment Officer at Smartshares Ltd (Smart), this month’s guest author of the InvestNow Market Wrap-Up.

Before we dive into the March 2025 Market Wrap Up, we just wanted to acknowledge the significant market volatility we have seen so far in early April, which has certainly tested investors’ resolve with global markets experiencing their sharpest decline since the pandemic era.

A sudden escalation in global trade tensions—headlined by sweeping U.S. tariffs—triggered the sharpest […]

InvestNow Market Wrap-Up: February 2025

Introducing Ashley Gardyne, Chief Investment Officer, at Fisher Funds, this month’s guest author of the InvestNow Market Wrap-Up.

As geopolitical tensions fray, investment opportunities may start to appear.

While broad global market indices fell only mildly in February, significant shifts took place beneath the surface. Geopolitical risks resurfaced, post-election sector winners reversed course, and investors reassessed growth expectations against stretched valuations. This market slide has accelerated in March, and the sharp divergence we are […]

InvestNow Market Wrap-Up: January 2025

Introducing Mike Taylor, Founder/CIO at Pie Funds, this month’s guest author of the InvestNow Market Wrap-Up.

Beyond the Magnificent 7: Is 2025 the Year of Market Expansion?

The fast and the furious! 2025 has kicked off at a whirlwind pace, with an influx of news and developments keeping investors on their toes. From trade wars to artificial intelligence breakthroughs, tariffs to geopolitical tensions, January has delivered much to digest. The most headline-grabbing of these […]

InvestNow Market Wrap-Up: November 2024

Introducing Dave Tyrer, COO at Squirrel, this month’s guest author of the InvestNow Market Wrap-Up.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, “brain rot” is the official 2024 word of the year—but if you ask me, I think it might just be “volatility”.

Most markets and asset classes have seen larger-than-usual movements (both positive and negative) in November—with the US elections certainly being a major disruptive force.

Here’s what’s been happening.

Cash

NZ’s Official Cash Rate dropped 0.50% on […]

InvestNow Market Wrap-Up: October 2024

Introducing Greg Fleming, Head of Global Diversified Funds at SALT Funds Management, this month’s guest author of the InvestNow Market Wrap-Up.

October was a volatile month for markets. Developed market equities gave back a fraction of their strong overall gains in 2024, falling -2.0% over the month. The global aggregate bond index also posted a negative return for the month, falling -1.5% in NZD-hedged terms. These negative moves were largely on the back […]

InvestNow Market Wrap-Up: September 2024

Introducing Aaron Klee, General Manager, Investment Management & Services at AMP, this month’s guest author of the InvestNow Market Wrap-Up.

We live in interesting times! Despite an almost ten per cent drop in the S&P 500 Index (the broad US stock market index) in early August, most major asset classes ended the quarter in positive territory with new all-time high records along the way.

Around […]

InvestNow Market Wrap-Up: August 2024

Introducing Greg Smith, Head of Retail at Devon Funds, this month’s guest author of the InvestNow Market Wrap-Up.

“… The past month has been anything but dull for markets. After the “panic attack” at the start of August, global benchmarks rebounded, led by the US indices. The Dow Jones made a new record high. The S&P500 was down 6% for the month at one point (and 8.5% from its July highs), before ending […]

InvestNow Market Wrap-Up: July 2024

Written by Jason Choy, InvestNow Senior Portfolio Manager

Market Dashboard

In a nutshell: Global markets eked out gains in July amid volatility, while local markets notched their strongest month of the year. Markets around the world digested a swath of economic, political and company specific developments over the month, which initially kicked off positively with major indexes establishing more record-highs. However, disappointing earnings from U.S. […]

InvestNow Market Wrap-Up: June 2024

Written by Jason Choy, InvestNow Senior Portfolio Manager

Market Dashboard

Global stocks led by the US saw fresh highs in June, while local markets continued their struggles in 2024. The economic momentum of the first quarter continued into the second for global equity markets, which saw gains concentrated in a handful of (AI-related) mega-cap names. Meanwhile, rate sensitive small cap and real estate stocks suffered […]