The New Zealand Superannuation Fund ended the first quarter of 2016 with assets of NZ$29.6 billion ($20.4 billion), a 0.48% gain for the three months ended March 31, an Auckland-based spokeswoman for the fund said.
The fund posted the modest advance on the strength of a strong rebound by risk assets in March from sharp declines at the start of 2016.
The value of NZ Super's portfolio jumped 5.3% in March, following declines of 3.57% in January and 1.05% in February.
For the 12 months through March 31, the fund posted a 1.05% return, well above the -1.2% return for NZ Super's reference portfolio.
As of March 31, the fund's asset allocation remained heavily skewed to growth assets, with 65% in global equities, 6% in timber, 5% in private equity, 4% each in New Zealand equities and infrastructure, 3% in “other private markets,” and 1% each in “other public markets” and rural farmland. Its allocation to fixed income, meanwhile, came to 12%. (Rounding errors left the fund's total allocation at 101%.)
The fund's actual allocations can deviate from those figures due to New Zealand Super's “strategic tilting” program, which uses derivatives to lower its exposure to assets it deems overvalued and add exposure to undervalued assets. NZ Super doesn't provide details on its strategic tilting positions.
