Stock Takes: Index makes a big comeback

it's looking like the local benchmark index will provide a respectable annual return. Photo / NZ Herald

S&P/NZX 50 recovers from winter volatility with a 10.3 per cent gain to date.

Back in August, when global financial markets were enveloped in China-driven turmoil, it would have been difficult to imagine the S&P/NZX 50 notching up yet another year of double-digit returns.

What a difference a few months makes.

At market open yesterday the index - which hit a record close of 6150.7 on Tuesday - had gained 10.3 per cent in the year to date, following a major recovery from the winter volatility. It appears unlikely the NZX 50 will match the 18 per cent return it delivered in 2014, which came on the back of a 16.5 per cent lift in 2013.

But barring a major market upset over the next few weeks, it's looking like the local benchmark index will provide a respectable annual return, especially compared with its international peers.

As of yesterday morning, Wall St's S&P 500 was up just 1 per cent for the year, while Australia's S&P ASX/200 had fallen 2.8 per cent.

That's not exactly comparing apples with apples, as those indices are based solely on share prices, while the NZX 50 also includes dividends.

Still, the S&P 500 Total Return Index and ASX 200 Accumulation Index - which do include dividends - have gained only 4.1 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively, in the year to date.

Mark Lister, of Craigs Investment Partners, says a major contributor to the local index's outperformance is its lack of exposure to the commodity slump, which has beaten down shares in mining and energy-related firms.

Where to next?

Strategists at Goldman Sachs are predicting a ho-hum year for equity investors in 2016.

A major driver is the firm's expectations that the US Federal Reserve will begin hiking interest rates this month, for the first time since 2006, and continue steady increases for several years.

Devon gets licence

Devon Funds Management has secured the Financial Markets Authority's seal of approval.

The Auckland-based firm, which manages $1.5 billion, has received its Managed Investment Scheme licence from the regulator - a requirement introduced as part of the Financial Markets Conduct Act, which came into force last year.

The licensing process is, by all accounts, a hugely time-consuming process and Devon will be glad to have it done and dusted.

It caps off a big year for the company, which received some top industry awards in 2015.

Niall Hartigan, the firm's head of operations and compliance, said: "While there has been significant regulatory change in financial services since the inception of the FMA, we believe that manager licensing is a very important step forward for the industry in New Zealand.

"Lifting the standard in

funds management will benefit clients and the industry in the long-term."