News Round Up

The latest on Home Equity Release schemes, A plug for global healthcare, MFS Pacific dual currency offer, Salvus reveals its big holdings, Kingfish performance. Blog - Task Force delay not necessarily a bad thing

Monday, August 1st 2005, 1:47AM

Sentinel is rolling out Express Top Up as an add on to the company’s home equity release schemes package.

Express Top Up allows people who take out an HER scheme to nominate an amount they may want to draw on above that loan level over the next five years.

The nominated level does not commit the client, but provides an indication of intent to Sentinel and to the client’s family and advisers, says Sentinel’s Garry Bishop.

A full report on Home Equity Release schemes and how advisers can use these products in their practice is contained in the latest issue of ASSET Magazine. To get a copy of the mag click here

A plug for global healthcare
Chris Donahoe, who looks after the Affinity HealthCare Worldwide Growth Trust in New Zealand, reckons it’s a good time to get into this sector.

He says the relative valuation for health care stocks, which are close to an all time low in the United States, along with a supportive interest rate and earnings backdrop makes this sector look good. “In addition, our dollar appears to have passed it peak versus the US dollar.”

Affinity, which was formerly looked after by Calan Healthcare, has had a roller coaster ride. It was launched in 1999 because of good fundamentals at that time. Then we experienced extreme exuberance becoming the top-performing fund in New Zealand. Following this it experienced “a painful global price earnings ratio compression, approaching a 16 year low” and ended up at the other end of the fund management performance league table.

“This may be your last chance to get into global healthcare at attractive valuations,” Donahoe says.

MFS Pacific dual currency debt offer
MFS Pacific Finance Limited has launched a new prospectus for an offer of $300 million of secured debenture stock and notes in both New Zealand and Australian dollars.

“The offer will target New Zealand residents with Australian dollar savings or cash deposits who want to invest in a secure facility backed by diversifying their investment into the growth of the Australian economy and the proven performance of the manager.”

The offer is made up of $200 million in secured debenture stock and $100 million in notes with terms of six months, one, two, three, four or five years with interest ranging from 9 - 9.25% for the debenture stock and 11 to 11.5% for the notes.

Salvus reveals its big holdings
Listed investment company Salvus says that despite a weaker short-term outlook, “the long term fundamentals of the New Zealand smaller company market remain firmly intact.” It says that the stock market was weak in the past quarter with the Small Companies Index down 0.2%.

The Salvus fund though managed to out perform the market with a 1.6% increase in its net asset value. In the 12-months ending June 30, the benchmark declined 3.6% versus Salvus's NAV rise of 0.2%, resulting in an outperformance of 3.8%. Salvus says that it holds 22 stocks, of which two are NZAX listed and one unlisted. To see details of its holdings click here

Kingfish performance
Fellow listed investment company Kingfish says the unaudited net asset value per ordinary share of the company as at July 27 was $1.2277 The unaudited diluted net asset value per ordinary share at this date was $1.1150. This diluted net asset value describes the effect if all warrants in existence were exercised on July 27 at $1.

Warrants are exercisable on any of March 2006, March 2007 or March, 2008. The net asset values are after including accruals for any performance fee payable to the manager.

Phil's Blog: Task Force delay not necessarily bad
It’s little surprise that any regulation of Financial Intermediaries is now more years away than many people would like. I did say in a Blog just over a week ago that I wouldn’t be surprised if the Task Force report got put back because of the review of non-bank products. READ ON

« Disquiet over Task Force delay

Sovereign takes regulation bull by the horns »

Special Offers