Market & Portfolio Update – September 2019
Market & Portfolio Update – September 2019
September was a positive month for most share markets across the world, bouncing back from some softness in August. Markets were supported by the Federal Reserve in the US reducing their cash rate for the second time this year. The Fed is looking to provide some support for their economy with growth slowing recently.
The NZ dollar continued to decline following the 0.50% OCR reduction last month, which will please the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. The lower NZ dollar supports NZ exporters and the returns of unhedged overseas investments.
Despite bond yields offsetting part of their recent decline in September, a 0.3% net fall in US 10-year yields over the quarter and a 0.5% fall in NZ has meant that fixed interest securities have performed well.
Disclaimer: This article has been prepared for the purpose of providing general information, without taking into consideration any particular investor’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Any opinions contained in it are held as at the report date and are subject to change without notice.
The magic of the managed fund
Let’s talk about shares for a minute. No matter how you invest, there are really just two ways to make money from owning shares:
1. You receive a slice of the profits (called dividends), or
2. You sell your shares to someone else for more than you paid (that’s capital gain).
That’s it. Anything else is simply a different way of packaging those two outcomes.
What is Life Insurance?
Life insurance is one of those things that many people know they should probably have but they’re not quite sure what it does, how it works, or whether it’s actually relevant to them. This article breaks it down in clear, everyday terms to help you understand the basics before you decide if it’s something worth exploring further.