Harbour Outlook: Finely balanced, markets walking a tightrope
Key points Trade tensions again dominated the headlines during June, while the “truce” reached at G20 summit mitigated some left-tail event fears, there is plenty yet to play out and the outcomes are likely to be non-binary.
Trade tensions and a string of softer than expected economic data led global yields lower in June.
In line with the global trend, domestic data erred on the side of disappointing with low PMI and busines…
Sustainability is Good for Returns
Harbour has been a signatory to the UN Principles of Responsible Investing since 2010 and is also a member of the Responsible Investing Association of Australasia.
Harbour is adding sustainability as an investment mega trend in our equities process
We continue to find integration of ESG factors is a positive factor for returns
An additional overlay of sustainability as a mega trend influence may provide better interaction an…
Interest Rates Race to Zero?
Yields on fixed interest securities, which have been falling sharply all year, took another surge lower last week. The 5-year swap rate, a good proxy for market rates in New Zealand reached 1.36%, down from 2.20% at Christmas 2018 and 2.65% a year ago. That’s a record low level for NZ bond yields. The primary catalyst last week was a signal that the US Federal Reserve is close to cutting rates. They are joining the central ban…
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Responsible investing and equity returns
There is a growing awareness that stock returns are influenced by Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations. As a long-term proponent of incorporating ESG factors into our assessment of companies, Harbour is delighted to have been involved in Armillary Private Capital’s annual review of returns of the NZ listed sector for 2018 that was released last week.
This is Armillary Capital’s ninth annual Return on Cap…
Harbour Outlook: Trade tensions impact global growth
Global equity markets retraced from their highs in May with the MSCI World index (in local currency) returning -6.0%. Risk aversion picked up almost entirely due to the breakdown in trade talks between the US and China. This resulted in the US increasing tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese goods; China promptly retaliated.
New Zealand and Australian equities weathered the volatility in global markets well...
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5G to enable new technology platforms
Investors need to factor in the opportunity and potential disruption of new technology and changing consumer preferences for mobile and fixed broadband communication. Fifth generation mobile networks (5G) provide a transformational shift in the telecommunications landscape. Why is this change so important?
It enables new technologies, like driverless cars, mobile medicine, the Internet of Things
It may accelerate the transiti…
Housing Market Risk Reduced
"Dad still can’t work out how he got it so cheap. It’s worth almost as much today as when we bought it".
- Dale Kerrigan, from cult Australian Film, The Castle
With the median Melbourne house price down 10% from its peak, many Victorians will be envious of the value held by Darryl Kerrigan’s Strathmore home. And even more envious Sydneysiders with house prices down 15% in the largest city (according to Core Logic).
In our…
Harbour Outlook: More bright spots emerge
Global equity markets continued to strengthen in April with the MSCI World index (in local currency) returning 3.8%. Markets were buoyed by the trifecta of a strong US earnings season, signs that Chinese stimulus have had a positive economic impact and, perhaps not unrelated, eurozone growth rates coming in above expectations...
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Harbour's Submission to the RBNZ on the Proposal for Changing Capital Adequacy
Submission to the RBNZ on the Proposal for Changing Capital Adequacy for New Zealand BanksHarbour[1] has written two short research papers on the RBNZ’s proposal to lift capital held in New Zealand by banks (see here and here). These reports highlighted that higher lending rates, lower deposit rates and potentially lower risk-weighted asset growth could be expected outcomes that might be associated with lower investment and GD…
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Harbour Macro Research Day
In recent years, Harbour’s internal six-monthly Macro Research Day has been an important part of our research calendar. It provides an opportunity to undertake a thorough review of the medium-term outlook for the macroeconomy and its implications for fixed interest, equity and multi-asset portfolios.
Our Macro Research Day last week commenced with presentations by economists from two of New Zealand’s largest banks discussing key drivers of the New Zealand economy. This included business confidence and the potential impact of the Reserve Bank capital requirements which has recently been one focus of our research agenda.
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