NZ funds growth driven by investment returns
The New Zealand retail managed funds market echoed the growth of the Australian market for the June quarter growing by $0.8 billion, or 2.1 per cent, to $36.3 billion — and increasing by 18.4 per cent for the 2012-13 financial year.
Like the Australian market, strong NZ earnings figures from underlying investments were responsible for about two-thirds of this increase, according to data released by Plan For Life.
KiwiSaver, NZ's voluntary retirement savings initiative, outperformed the market with returns of 28.8 per cent. Unit trusts and managed funds posted an average return of 13.7 per cent on the back of solid investment returns.
The NZ superannuation sector had a small average increase of 2.8 per cent while the insurance and investment bond market fell by 0.2 per cent, both impacted by negative net cashflows, also similar to the Australian market for the June quarter.
Milford Asset Management led the market in terms of increases in funds under management, increasing by 133.9 per cent. BT / Westpac increased by 29 per cent, Fisher Funds, which now includes Tower NZ, increased by 19.5 per cent and OnePath increased funds under management by 17.6 per cent.
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