Global Equity Fund

Super Amazing Fund Management  |  Month ended 31 August 2026

Benchmark: MSCI World Index (NZD, unhedged)

Fund returns

Macro drivers

• Interest rates: US Fed funds rate held at 4.25%-4.50%

  The Federal Reserve held rates steady for a third consecutive meeting, with commentary continuing to lean on incoming inflation data before signalling any cutting cycle. This kept discount rate assumptions for growth-oriented sectors broadly stable over the month.

• FX: NZD/USD ended the month at 0.585, down 1.2%

  A softer New Zealand dollar over the month added a modest tailwind to unhedged offshore returns for New Zealand-based investors, contributing roughly 1.2 percentage points of the fund's total return in NZD terms.

• Bond yields: US 10-year Treasury yield eased 8bps to 4.21%

  A modest pullback in long-dated yields provided some relief for higher duration growth names, part of the same rally in the technology sector that the fund's underweight position there missed most of.

• Geopolitical events: Ongoing trade policy discussions between major economies

  Continued uncertainty around trade policy kept volatility elevated in cyclical sectors, particularly industrials and energy, though broad market impact was contained over the period.

Market reactions

How the market responded to disclosures by the companies and funds held.

Commentary

Market commentaryAI-drafted

Global equities were volatile in August 2026, with an early-month AI-led rally giving way to a chipmaker selloff. Coreweave and Super Micro results initially affirmed confidence in the AI trade, with shares of Coreweave rising as much as 24% while Super Micro gained nearly 18%. Mid-month, growing anxiety about inflation and rising government debt kept bond yields elevated, driving a closely watched gauge of semiconductor firms down by 5%, with oil settling around $85 amid a US-Iran deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz. The fund's lag against the benchmark's 2.58% is consistent with lighter exposure to the mega-cap technology and semiconductor names that swung sharply through the month.

Attribution commentaryAI-drafted

Information Technology was by far the largest detractor, as semiconductor names sold off through mid-August. A selloff in chipmakers sent stocks lower, with the market also falling as growing anxiety about inflation and rising government debt kept bond yields elevated, before the sector was further rattled when a news report that some of the chipmaker's biggest customers have been notified about AI-related price hikes above 15% surfaced. Industrials also weighed on results: AI hardware continued to drive August's increase in import prices, while commodity-price volatility from the Iran war raised the cost of industrial materials at the border. Late in the month, a flare-up in geopolitical risks sent stocks and bonds lower as oil climbed, raising concerns about inflationary pressures, adding further pressure on cyclical sectors into month-end.

OutlookAI-drafted

Heading into the period after 31 August 2026, the fund's 5.1% underweight to Information Technology sits against continued warnings on concentration risk: Bloomberg reported that investors have put $52 billion into information technology ETFs since late March, versus just $4 billion into the rest of the market, "$13" for every "$1" elsewhere, a backdrop that saw a September AI-development slowdown warning trigger a sharp tech selloff. The Federal Reserve's July minutes noted the equity premium was at a level "only been lower in recent history during the dot-com bubble." The Industrials overweight sits inside a sector Bloomberg described as trading at "tech-like valuations" on AI-linked optimism, with worries mounting that the link "may be getting too tight." The Financials overweight remains supported by a resilient credit backdrop, with the Fed characterising corporate bond spreads as little changed and very low by historical standards, reflecting a solid corporate credit outlook.

Sector

Country

Holding