Navigating the uncertainty

Booster Market Portfolio and Portfolio Update

These are turbulent times in global markets, but history shows that markets have ultimately recovered from uncertainty in the past. At times like these, it is important to continue to focus on the long term and talk to your financial adviser before making any rash decisions.

To help our KiwiSaver and managed fund clients understand how their fund manager is navigating this difficult period, Booster have released a market update discussing their approach to managing clients’ portfolios during this period:

  • Booster’s funds are broadly diversified, helping to reduce the impact that any single event has on your portfolio.
  • Many portfolios include holdings that are expected to perform well during this time. For example, higher-quality bonds tend to perform well during periods of heightened uncertainty in share markets, helping to provide a smoother path for the funds.
  • As an active fund manager, Booster is taking the opportunity to invest in high-quality companies at lower prices, investing for the long-term.
  • Their fund managers are dynamically managing allocations for changing market and economic environments. For example, Booster portfolio managers see opportunities in European-based investments, particularly European communication services and telecommunications businesses.

Booster Market and Portfolio Update is available at this link.

Those funds with a longer-term horizon would be expected to be affected most by the deterioration in global markets. They are also the funds that are likely to have benefited most from very strong equity gains in recent years.

Your fund manager will continue to manage your portfolio, consistent with your fund’s objectives. As a KiwiSaver member, or investor, it also is important that you stick to your plan.

We don’t have a crystal ball. Markets could easily spring back if the Trump administration’s stance on tariffs soften. If not, then the US economy faces a growing risk of a recession with further knock-on effects on economies around the world. Eventually things will settle, we just don’t know when.

If you feel unsettled, please talk to your financial advisor before making any knee-jerk decisions.