ANZ Investments has been on active duty amid rising market volatility, according to chief investment officer, Paul Huxford.
Huxford said ANZ, the country’s largest non government-owned asset manager, had pared back an overweight equities position coming into 2022 as it adjusted portfolios ahead of expected turbulence.
“We benefited last year from being long growth and short bonds but this year will be more choppy and you will see that reflected in what we do,” he said.
The latest Melville Jessup Weaver (MJW) investment survey shows ANZ trimmed risk exposure in some of its KiwiSaver funds during the December quarter. For example, the ANZ KiwiSaver growth fund saw the allocation to risk assets fall from over 88 per cent to under 85 per cent during the three months to the end of 2021.
ANZ, which manages about $20 billion across its three schemes, has sustained consistent performance over all risk-weighted KiwiSaver portfolios monitored by MJW. The December quarter investment survey puts ANZ among the top in most risk categories for all periods up to 10 years.
Huxford said the general share market tilt to defensive stocks had also seen the performance dynamics in the ANZ multi-manager global equities portfolios shift in favour of value over growth.
In a recent note to investors, he says:
“From an investment standpoint, 2022 is shaping up as a challenging year for investment markets. Nevertheless, no matter what the year brings, we believe our active management approach will help to smooth out any bumps in financial markets and capitalise on the opportunities.
“Just as we did before, and during the pandemic, our focus will remain on quality companies and assets that exhibit strong governance and values. This approach, we believe, will continue to serve our investors well, targeting above-average returns, on a consistent basis and over the long term.”
In line with consensus, Huxford flags inflation, rising interest rates and ongoing pandemic uncertainty as the major risks for the year ahead.
Overall, ANZ manages more than $32 billion.