The risks associated with crypto currencies are often immense. Barrister, Gary Hughes, outlines what some of the problems could be in Australia and New Zealand. By Gary Hughes for Thomson Reuters. Inquiries in Trans-Tasman Region Gary Hughes | September 23, 2021 Crypto-enthusiasts and FinTech businesses across the Oceania region would have be...
The mosque terror attacks in Christchurch on 15 March are still being discussed. Now it's because the gunman from Australia has been charged with murder but prosecutors are looking at charging him with terrorism as well. Here is what appeared on www.stuff.co.nz in New Zealand this week, along with a photo of Al Noor Mosque. Charging the mosque terr...
Since the Mosque killings in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March there's been an outpouring of emotion and of money. This is what has been pledged so far. New Zealand and global investors representing more than NZD$5 trillion have added their support to the Christchurch Call, which sets out voluntary commitments for governments, companies and wider...
I was in Christchurch yesterday, at a refugee forum at which many Muslims were present, some of whom had lost loved ones in the Christchurch bombings. It was an horrific act and it's easy to link it to the Sri Lanka bombings – which is what a Sri Lankan junior minister has said. This article by Paul Buchanan, the Director of 36th Parallel Assessmen...
The NZ Super Fund is a NZD41 billion global investment fund established by the NZ government to help pre-fund universal pensions. It is now increasing its investment in data, with the aim of maintaining its 10 per cent return on investment. The investment is being made alongside CIM, a community focused real estate and infrastructure owner. The det...
The past fortnight has been dominated by the shootings and murders in Christchurch, New Zealand, and the rise of White Supremacism and analysis of that. At a personal level, the theme of death continued, having had to organize and attend a funeral last week. This is what The Spin Off writes about the Christchurch murders and how Facebook has dealt ...
New Zealand is still reeling from the mosque attacks in Christchurch and the rest of the world is reacting to the response of the New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, to the attacks. The response was considered empathetic and measured. As a consequence, the Arab world, largely, has responded with much affection to New Zealand and the attacks...
Last week's tragic events in Christchurch, New Zealand, have had repercussions around the world- from the way New Zealand, and the prime minister in particular, has responded, to the rapid change in gun laws. Then there are the politicians who are using the tragedy for their own ends, such as Turkey's President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. By Mark Lowen,...
New Zealand is still in mourning for the 50 murders at two Christchurch mosques last Friday. With the New Zealand Prime Minister making the right comments at the right time, the Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, is calling for a curb on social media. The terrorist, a White Supremacist, came from Australia. Five public investors in New Zeal...
Records of how the NZ Super Fund has voted at listed company AGMs are now available on the Fund's website . Anne-Maree O'Connor, Head of Responsible Investment, says the move is a step forward for transparency, and in line with leading investment management practices globally. Stakeholders can now see NZ Super Fund voting data by country and compan...
Looking at sovereign wealth funds, the New Zealand fund continues to perform well. Here is the latest news. 20 February 2019 Appearing before Parliament's Finance and Expenditure Select Committee today for the 2017/18 Annual Review of the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, Chair Catherine Savage provided an update on the performance of the NZ...
This article shows how the NZ Superannuation Fund is evolving and new appointments that have been made. The Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation has appointed Sam Porath to the position of Manager – NZ Equities. Mr Porath will lead the team managing the NZ Super Fund's in-house active New Zealand equities mandate. Currently Portfolio Manager – S...
I hit upon this issue the other day- ageism. It's not only a problem in New Zealand- one that is seldom discussed- but in other places too, such as the United Kingdom. There, when you are about 30 you are "too old", or rather "not a good fit" for an organisation. It's all about semantics. In both the UK and NZ ageism might be against the law- in ot...
This media release came in today about New Zealand's sovereign wealth fund. It's performing well, its success recognised across Asia. The NZ Super Fund has been awarded the Sovereign Wealth Fund prize at the 2018 AsianInvestor Institutional Excellence Awards in Singapore. The editorial team at AsianInvestor noted the NZ Super Fund's "longstanding o...
I was looking at the Unicef website for images of Yemen and I came across this article which I thought was not only interesting but informative. It looks at why New Zealand has one of the most unequal education systems in the world. New Zealand has one of the most unequal education systems in the world and the gap between the highest and lowest per...
I read this media release from the New Zealand Super Fund with interest. I'm sure other companies could take a lead from the Fund in terms of their human resources policy. Features of the NZ Super Fund's new benefits package include a top-up to full pay for 26 weeks during primary carer parental leave, a KiwiSaver lump sum top up for unpaid parenta...
Press Release: 24 September 2018- Christchurch, New Zealand
Failure to speak English is the main barrier refugees face when looking for employment and accessing healthcare.
Other barriers to finding employment include discrimination- ethnic and gender- a lack of local work experience and a failure by employers to recognise qualifications gained outside New Zealand.
These are discussed further in a study carried out by the Canterbury Refugee Resettlement and Resource Centre (CRRRC). This study gathered information on the challenges refugees face when seeking employment, the quality of that employment, the state of refugee health and the ability of refugees to access health services.
The information was elicited from refugees themselves via a questionnaire. “Although the survey was conducted among refugees in Christchurch and its surrounds, the answers can be extrapolated to the rest of New Zealand,” one of the co-researchers, Sumaiya Nasir, general manager of the CRRRC said.
Media Release24 July 2018Investment Environment Report - July 2018
In this 'Investment Environment Report' Mike Frith, Manager, Economics, explains the global investment environment and its implications for the NZ Super Fund.
Watch a short video of Mike Frith discussing the investment environment.
Economic and market backdrop
Economic fundamentals remain sound, underpinned by strong momentum, favourable market sentiment, supportive financial conditions, and expansionary fiscal policy in the United States. Together, these support corporate earnings and equity markets. However, it is not all one-way traffic. The strong performance of equity markets through 2016 and 2017 has not been sustained into 2018 thus far. Central Bank liquidity is being slowly withdrawn and inflation expectations and interest rates have increased. These are all normal late-cycle market developments, although give cause for market participants to reassess expectations for corporate earnings growth. In addition, market volatility has increased due to global trade tensions and European political outcomes, which increase market uncertainty around the global outlook.
I sent this press release out today.
29 June, New Zealand.
Anti money-laundering legislation to hit Kiwi SME businesses from next month
The number of Kiwi businesses that need to comply with AML / CFT (Anti-Money Laundering and combating the Financing of Terrorism) legislation will quadruple overnight.
From July 1, legislative requirements will be imposed on the legal, real estate, sports betting, and high-value goods industries (jewellery, precious metals, precious stones, watches, motor vehicles, boats, art or antiques where they take cash payments of $15,000 or more).
Media Release11 May 2018
Auckland, 11 May 2018: The NZ Super Fund has added another expansion capital investment to its NZ$38b (US$27b) portfolio, investing US$65m in cloud-based waste and recycling technology company Rubicon Global (www.rubiconglobal.com/).
Headquartered in Atlanta, Rubicon Global ('Rubicon') provides an innovative technology platform for waste and recycling. It connects customers to a network of independent waste haulers and is leading the development of smart city products in the waste and recycling space. The company's goal is to help businesses, governments and organisations confidently execute on their sustainability goals through their waste management operations.
Mark Fennell, the NZ Super Fund's Acting Chief Investment Officer, said Rubicon provided an attractive opportunity for the Fund to increase its exposure to expansion capital.
Following the Rubicon investment, around 2% of the NZ Super Fund is invested in expansion capital investments. The Fund has direct investments in fuel cell manufacturer Bloom Energy, dynamic glass manufacturer View Inc. and waste-to-energy company LanzaTech. In New Zealand the NZ Super Fund has supported a large number of small and medium-sized high growth companies via external managers Direct Capital, Pioneer Capital, Pencarrow, Waterman Capital and Movac.
Mr. Fennell said: "It's pleasing to be able to leverage our timeframe, scale and diversification to support growth companies such as Rubicon that, while established from a technology point of view, are pre-IPO. As a long-term investor, the NZ Super Fund is able to invest in high growth companies with a view to realising long-term potential. These expansion capital investments are an important part of our investment mix because they can help drive long-run returns."