The Monday Call

Kiwibank Chief Economist Jarrod Kerr joins us to discuss the inflation outlook and where interest rates are likely to head. What will persistently high inflation mean for the New Zealand economy? And how will Kiwi households cope as higher living costs start to bite?

Is responsible investing a force for global change?

Leading London-based consultant Daniella Woolf shares her insights from the forefront of the ESG industry. We also discuss the specific ESG issues arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

We're joined by Warehouse Group CEO Nick Grayston and CFO Jonathan Oram. We look at the Group’s solid performance, despite Covid-19 headwinds. And we discuss how re-opening borders and rising living costs could impact Kiwi retailers.

To help us make sense of Vladimir Putin’s motivations, we’re joined by Professor Robert Patman of the University of Otago – one of New Zealand’s pre-eminent international relations experts.

With commodities and inflation rising, where are prices headed next?

One of the financial world’s leading commodities analysts, William Callanan, joins us as we try to make sense of the global forces driving commodity prices and inflation higher.

A ‘black swan’ event is something financial markets fail to factor in because it is so improbable. It can make markets fall sharply and quickly, as investors all race for the door.

Mark Spitznagel founded Universa Investments to focus entirely on these unlikely occurrences. Universa buys ‘far out of the money’ options on US share markets, protecting against extremely unlikely falls. Most of the time, these options expire worthless. But when a black swan event hits, the options can suddenly be ‘in the money’ – and valuable to their owners. This proved to be the case when Covid-19 sent share markets plummetting in March 2020.

NZ Funds has worked with Universa since 2013. Mark speaks to our Chief Investment Officer James Grigor about Universa’s contrarian investment approach.

New Zealand residential property values continued to climb in 2021. But there are signs a change could be on the cards in 2022.

In this week’s call, we’re joined by CoreLogic’s Chief Economist Kelvin Davidson to look at the year ahead for New Zealand property. What differences have tighter lending rules and rising interest rates already made? How have the mindsets of buyers and sellers changed, and what’s happening in the country’s auction rooms? And could 2022 be the year we finally see a fall in house prices?

James Grigor and Mark Brooks discuss why financial markets have started the year down and outline the tools and techniques NZ Funds are using to manage clients' investments against several global headwinds.

James Grigor and Mark Brooks are joined by BNZ's Head of Research Stephen Toplis to discuss the inflation outlook for 2022. How will Kiwi homeowners and businesses cope with price increases in the midst of the Omicron surge, rising interest rates and the worsening Ukraine crisis?

Every week, we talk to the innovators and commentators, the fund managers and headline makers, to gain insights into the new market realities. It’s a global view of finance from a uniquely New Zealand perspective, keeping Kiwi investors and financial advisers up to date with the latest market news.