Update written by Roger Clayton, Salt Funds Management – 10th December 2020

In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX50 Gross rose +5.7% in November, led by Fletcher Building (+37%) on a strong earnings update, Air New Zealand (+28%) on vaccine optimism, and Meridian Energy (+21%) on persistent clean energy fund ETF buying. The most notable detractors were Pushpay (-22%) on slowing customer growth and Sanford (-8%) on weak earnings. The Fund pleasingly kept pace with its benchmark in what was a very strong month for markets in November, returning +5.68% compared to the +5.66% turned in by the S&P/NZX50 Gross Index.

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

The month of November saw the effervescent NZ property sector take a break from its near-vertical ascent in recent months, with the benchmark declining by a modest -0.6%. This was accompanied by NZ 10-year bond yields rising quite sharply from 0.51% to 0.87% although they still obviously remain at very low levels. The Fund enjoyed an extremely strong month of relative performance in November, with a return of +1.27% compared to the -0.56% decline turned in by the S&P/NZX All Real Estate Gross Index.

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