This year's winner First NZ Capital achieved 58 per cent returns thanks to four strong picks, which included Fisher & Paykel Healthcare. Photo / File
This year's winner First NZ Capital achieved 58 per cent returns thanks to four strong picks, which included Fisher & Paykel Healthcare. Photo / File
It has been a good year for local equities. In fact we're not far from being able to call it a good decade with the NZX bull-run moving into its ninth year in 2018.
But that hasn't necessarily made it easier for those playing the Herald's annual brokers picks game.
In fact it gets harder to look good when an index like the NZX-50 is consistently delivering double digit returns.
So it's been an admirable performance by participants in Herald Brokers Picks this year with all but one beating the local market, some by a considerable margin.
The NZX-50 returned 23.5 per cent (for the game period of 19 December to 15 December).
It also had Xero in the mix which - despite some big ups and downs – still returned more than 60 per cent.
Second place went to Hamilton Hindin Greene on 57.3 per cent return. All five of the Christchurch based brokerage's picks were strong performers.
The best was Opus International with 132 per cent return and the worst was Chorus which still managed 16 per cent. It also had last year's most popular pick F&P Healthcare in the mix - it returned 71.7 per cent.
Craigs Investment Partners took third place with an impressive 40 per cent return. Its best pick was airport baggage handling manufacturer Gentrack which returned 94 per cent.
Craigs also had some solid big cap stocks in the mix like Restaurant Brands which returned more than 40 per cent and Contact Energy which returned more than 30 per cent.
It wasn't a great year for the small cap picks that are often included by brokers because of the potential for very high returns.
MSL Capital did well with Synlait and Heartland Bank (51 per cent gain) but saw its overall result dragged down by Plexure Group and Green Cross Health.
Vulcan Capital, the only broker not to make a positive return, saw an 84 per cent return on NZ King Salmon but was hit hard by negative returns for Promisia and Pacific Edge.
Disclaimer – It's a game Readers should recognise that the results of the Brokers Picks are skewed by some features of the game. The figures exclude brokers fees. Brokers are asked to choose the securities that will give the best short-term performance. If they had been asked to choose, for example, a five-year term, the results might be different. The survey does not allow brokers to review choices during the year. The survey implies a one-size-fits-all approach. It takes no account of individual circumstances such as an investor's appetite for risk, need for income or tax circumstances. The views expressed do not constitute personalised financial advice and are not directed at any person. Finally, past performance is no guarantee of future performance. We hope it provides a good basis for further research and discussion about investment in the local market.
