Weekly briefs

AMP hikes its fees:
AMP has raised the fees on most of the 43 funds it offers under the its Savings and Investments Portfolio (SIP) umbrella.
Both entry and annual management fees are being lifted. The management fees on growth funds have risen by between 0.25 per cent and 0.35 per cent.
The only products not to attract higher management fees are the AMP New Zealand Cash Investment Fund and the fixed interest investment funds.
AMP says the pricing of its funds compares favourably with other options offered in the market.

...As do health insurers
New Zealand's two biggest health insurers have increased their premiums by an average of 12 per cent.
Southern Cross is phasing its rises in over a 12 month period beginning in July, while Aetna's increases have already come into effect.
Southern Cross chief executive Roger Bowie says the increases reflect the shift of elective surgery from the public to the private sector.
Aetna says that shift makes up a significant component of its increases.

Homes become easier
It was easier for New Zealanders to buy a house last year, according to Massey University's Home Mortgage Affordability Index.
The index, which is prepared for AMP, showed a 3.4 per cent improvement over the 12 months to December 31, despite the median house price recording its fifth straight rise.
The study's authors say a drop in interest rates in the December quarter more than offset a further lift in house prices.

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