News round-up

Kiwi investor confidence leaps; New insurance calculator fills need for information; RBNZ withdraws crisis facilities; Shopping mall property syndicate sells out; Brook finds rewarding opportunities

Monday, October 19th 2009, 5:00AM

by Maddy Milicich

Kiwi investor confidence leaps
The mood of New Zealand's high net worth investors has taken a major leap, according to ING's Asia-Pacific dashboard survey.

NZ investors have now moved into an optimistic zone for the first time since the ING dashboard was introduced two years ago, rising 41 points to 125 (out of 200). High net investors are defined as those with disposable assets or investments of US$100,000 or more outside their own home.

The upturn in Kiwi sentiment was the highest across 13 countries in the region, though average Australian investor score is higher at 143.

ING's report said that the positive scores from NZ investors throughout the survey point to strong expectations that the economy, both locally and globally, is on the road to recovery for 2010.

"New Zealand is recovering from five consecutive quarters of negative growth, and the improvement in investor sentiment is consistent with the optimism being shown in consumer and business surveys," said ING NZ investment strategist Stuart Millar.

New insurance calculator fills need for information
Sorted has launched a new calculator to help Kiwis work out their insurance needs, in response to a Retirement Commission survey that showed a third of the population feel they don't know enough about insurance.

The survey asked New Zealanders if they felt they knew enough about insurance to make good decisions about buying or cancelling policies. More than 30% said they didn't.

Only 4% of those surveyed had decreased the amount of cover over the past year, and only half those had done so because they could no longer afford all the policies. Nearly a quarter of New Zealanders had increased their cover.

The calculator includes insurance options from house and contents, vehicle, life and health, and income and debt protection insurance.

RBNZ withdraws crisis facilities
Improving global financial market conditions have prompted the Reserve Bank to withdraw several temporary crisis measures put in place last year to help ensure day to day liquidity.

The changes will kick in from November 1, and reflect the fact that many of the special facilities had barely been used in the last six months.

The four temporary measures being withdrawn are:

Removal of the Term Auction Facility that allows banks to borrow three, six and nine-month money using eligible collateral;
A change to allow all eligible securities, including corporate securities and residential mortgage backed securities, as collateral in the regular Tuesday Open Market Operation;
The removal of one month borrowing facilities offered by the RBNZ to allow overnight borrowing only;
Withdrawal of the weekly Reserve Bank bill tender, although bank bills will continue to be offered in the daily OMO.

Shopping mall property syndicate sells out
A proportional property ownership scheme in Tauranga's CBD has closed, with 103 portions being bought out for $75,000 each.

The well-known Goddard Centre has 22 tenancies, including names such as Life Pharmacy, Moochi, Rialto Cinemas, Caci Clinic, Esquires and Glassons.

The offering was made to the public four months ago. An initial yield of 9.5% is forecast for the first 12 months.

Brook finds rewarding opportunities
Brook Asset Management's Tasman Fund has returned a gross 20.7% for the 12 months to September 30.

The fund's return exceeded the NZX50 index which provided a return of 2.3% and the Australian ASX200, which returned 6.2% during the same period.

"Investment opportunities have been identified in companies with sound business models and strong balance sheets, where the market had lost confidence in the recovery," says Brook managing director Mark Brighouse. "This has provided an opportunity to invest in quality companies at very attractive prices."

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