A New Zealand snapshot of the credit crisis

At the end of June 2008, the Super Fund had holdings in many credit crisis casualties. We asked what the current value of a sample of those equity holdings is now.

The following table shows the values at the end of the June 2008 year compared to December 31 2008. In reading the losses, a Super Fund spokesperson said: "Please note that it is not possible for you to draw a direct reference between these values and the June 30 2008 values as our holdings in these companies will change through time due to both the change in the overall size of the Fund and the decisions of our active managers."

When we asked if the Fund had sold down in any of those holdings and, if so, by how much and what return was achieved in the process, the spokesperson said: "We have provided you with as much information as we can, we do not comment on our activities around individual assets."

FUND LOSSES

The savage and sudden impact of the global financial meltdown on the New Zealand Superannuation Fund is revealed in its own figures. In the 18 months to December 31, 2008, the Fund lost $4.18 billion before tax.

This consisted of a loss before tax for the year to June 30 2008 of $ 716.5m and $ 3,467.9m for the six months ended December 31 2008. Since it started salting away money in 2003, the Fund has made an annualised return of 3.97 per cent, which compares with the return for Treasury Bills of 6.89 per cent.

Three months earlier- to September 30, 2008- the respective since inception returns were 8.04 per cent and 6.92 per cent, which underlines the force of the last quarter, when global equity markets tumbled more sharply than in any other period since 1974, and before that the 1930s Great Depression.