Media

6th April 2021: This month’s interest piece has been written by Victoria Harris, Portfolio Manager of the Devon Australian and Sustainability fund. The integration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors continues to grow in importance as a key component of the investment process. As a consequence, ESG-focused funds are attracting significant inflows. Underpinning this rising importance of ESG for investors is a number of drivers. Firstly, there is a continued regulatory transition from voluntary disclosures to binding legislation.

Investment Services Group (ISG), parent company to Devon Funds, has been awarded Toitū Enviromark Gold Certification.

3rd March 2021: 2020 will always be remembered for the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a year defined by massive uncertainties around our health, the social implications of shutdowns and distancing, and ultimately whether many businesses and sectors would survive at all. What must also be considered when we look back over the past 12-months though, is the manner with which many governments and central banks dealt with the crisis. In a world where lockdowns, masks and hand sanitizers are still the norm, major global economic policy initiatives have generally done their job.

4th February 2021: This month’s interest piece was written by our Chief Investment Officer, Mark Brown. Whilst anyone could be forgiven for superficially predicting that after 10-years of unrelenting strength global equity markets were due for a correction, this would not be our view. Whilst we have sympathy for the “reversion to mean” argument we don’t believe that it is a valid thesis for 2021. In fact, our view is that 2021 will probably be another strong year for equity investments and that there are numerous good reasons to support this positive view.

11th January 2021: In managing our clients’ New Zealand and Australian investments, it is critically important to have a clear view on what is happening in China. China is not only the world’s second largest economy, it is also Australia’s and New Zealand’s largest trading partner (c. 30-40% of both countries’ exports) and its economic performance influences investor sentiment in both the New Zealand and Australian share markets. In recent times navigating the more fractious China/Australia trading relationship has also been an important focus for investors in Australian equities.

3rd December 2020: November’s rally in global equity markets was almost without parallel. For European stocks it was the strongest month ever recorded, while for the US Dow Jones Index, it was the largest gain achieved since 1987. Similar records were broken in this part of the world with the ASX200 finishing up more than 10%, its best return for 32-years. Domestically the NZX50 closed 5.7% higher. In a year which has been defined by uncertainty, these positive outcomes are a clear representation that the world is recovering.

5th November: 2020 will be remembered for one thing: COVID-19. The pandemic has created a set of global challenges that have at times felt insurmountable and there is still enormous uncertainty as to how the next 12-months will play out for businesses, travel and everyday life. Against this backdrop though there are other major difficulties being created in the area of wealth and, more specifically, in the production of income. As the world’s population grows older, the need for income derived from savings to support retirement and broader lifestyles has increased dramatically.

9 Oct, 2020: Vista's share price has been dragged down after the new James Bond movie was the latest blockbuster to have a delay on its cinema release. 

Cinema effect

The delayed roll-out of movies like the latest James Bond is putting pressure on cinema chains and shares in cinema software firm Vista are also feeling the effects.

Stephen Bennie, Castle Point fund manager, said this week's decision to further delay the release of the 25th Bond movie, "No Time to Die", until next year, proved to be another mortal blow for cinema operators.

5th October 2020: During the past month we were very excited by the launch of our Sustainability Fund. Although we have always been recognized for integrating Environmental, Social and Governance considerations into our investment process, this new Fund is an explicit representation of our expertise in this area.

28 September 2020: The Minister of Finance after the general election will need to walk a financial tightrope to create a credible Covid economic recovery plan that benefits both business and households, and cuts into mounting debt.

The Mood of the Boardroom asked CEOs and directors: What should the major priority be for the next Minister of Finance?