Market & Portfolio Update - October 2020

New Zealand shares were up over October with electricity generators bouncing back after the Government suggested more support around the Tiwai Aluminium Smelter, which consumes 30% of electricity in NZ.

Australian shares were down a touch over the month as tensions with China escalated further which has been an ongoing back and forth between the two countries over the past three years.

Global bonds were down (yields rose) through October as calls for more fiscal stimulus gained traction putting upward pressure on yields with the prospect of more government bond supply to come. We remain a little cautious on the outlook for rising interest rates, and have recently increased our allocation to inflation linked bonds to provide a degree of protection against a potential rise in inflation as economic growth gradually picks up.