The month of November was an extremely busy one for the Pie Funds team! We hosted our annual client investor series, which included six presentations up and down the country, and we got to rub shoulders with you, our clients, and KiwiSaver members. We love the opportunity to meet face-to-face with our investors, talk markets, answer your questions, and often catch up with old friends. A client will frequently approach me, saying, "I've been with Pie for over ten years, Mike," or "I invested back in 2018 as soon as you opened your KiwiSaver funds". These long-term relationships are significant to us. I love repaying your loyalty with excellent service and good returns.
Not to be outdone by the client events, my road trip didn't end in Christchurch or Hawke's Bay. I went on a work trip to China with a colleague the following week. This was my first visit to mainland China (I've been to Hong Kong quite a few times)!! It was quite an adventure. While it was a reasonably whistle-stop tour with no time for sightseeing (well, maybe just 1 hour), it was great to get an on-the-ground feel for the economy and, politically, how China sees the rest of the world. And importantly New Zealand – I can report back very favourably. I visited Hainan, where we were hosted at the Oceania Centre, which opened in July this year by John Key (who is a rockstar over there) to help grow ties between Hainan and New Zealand. Hainan is an economic free-trade zone.
We then travelled to Beijing to meet with high-net-worth investors and local regulators. During the trip we learned about China's desire to explore beneath the sea, not just in search of resources but potentially to build data centres, powered by off-shore wind. I was impressed by the shift to electric mobility, with all the scooters being electric and clear evidence that the vehicle fleet was moving electric, judging by the number of Chinese EVs on the roads.
He said, Xi said.
I read the China Daily newspaper during my visit, and refreshingly, it was all good news stories (of course, I understand the subliminal messaging here). However, I do get a little sick of the negative headlines in our media we are subjected to. The message that China wants you to hear is that "US consumers to bear the brunt of US tariffs" and "Xi made it unequivocally clear that China desires amicable and cooperative relations rather than a confrontationally competitive relationship" with a word of warning [the US] "should not overstretch the national security concept, and use it as a pretext for malicious moves. Beijing will remain firm and resolute in safeguarding China's territorial integrity and development interests and not sit idly by should its strategic security or core interests be threatened".
There is nervousness about the tariffs in China, but they see this as something that might backfire on the Trump administration. One high net-worth investor I spoke to quickly pointed out that the Democrats haven't been that friendly over the last 4 years. Economically, they are in a waiting game, releasing some stimulus packages but keeping plenty of powder dry so that they can react to whatever comes out of Mar-o-lago. The end goal is for the stimulus to boost consumer sentiment and aid the sagging property market. Regarding investment for growth, renewable energy, AI infrastructure, domestic consumption, and ocean exploration are key focus areas for China in the coming years (rather than airports, highways, and property construction, which characterised the previous boom).
Fortunately, in terms of NZ, it's a glowing report card, as seen from the above insights.
And if you want my tip for the next growth area in China, it's not data centres or luxury handbags; it's health and fitness with a focus on the outdoors. Strong policy support for health and wellbeing is driving a surge in demand for outdoor activities like hiking in the surroundings of Beijing. By 2025, China plans to finish building or expanding 1,500 sports parks, 1,400 fitness centres, and 5,100 outdoor sports facilities.
Turning back to markets, the funds were reasonably strong during the month as our portfolios generally benefited from the so-called "Trump bump", which saw US stocks benefit from a Republican red sweep. Investors anticipate that an America First policy, including lower taxes, less regulation, and tariffs, will benefit US companies and consumers and make America great again.
Another notable beneficiary was Bitcoin and crypto-related themes, which all went ballistic after Trump endorsed a proposed Bill to convert some of the US strategic reserves to Bitcoin. Our Global Growth and Global Growth 2 funds were the best performers during the month.
Thank you for your continued support—we look forward to delivering great returns!
Warm regards,
Mike Taylor
Founder & Chief Investment Officer