New Zealand Share (Stock) Market
has been down every day this year ... if (and by that I mean when) it ends the day down today, that will be 14 days in a row. The NZ market index has lost 19% of its value from its high in October.
This is an especially bad bit of timing, as NZ has introduced its new 'Kiwi Saver' scheme, which is similar to the US IRA/401(k) plan. Thousands of people have enrolled, and most likely all of them have seen the value of their contributions fall. In the US, we're mostly accustomed to riding out the market and watching the values of our investments rise and fall over the short-term, but rise over the long-term. I wonder about the psychological blow to new investors when they realize that they would have been better off keeping their Kiwi Saver money under the mattress (or at least in a regular savings account). Is it going to discourage a lot of people from ever investing again?
Oh, there's also been some other news here.
This is an especially bad bit of timing, as NZ has introduced its new 'Kiwi Saver' scheme, which is similar to the US IRA/401(k) plan. Thousands of people have enrolled, and most likely all of them have seen the value of their contributions fall. In the US, we're mostly accustomed to riding out the market and watching the values of our investments rise and fall over the short-term, but rise over the long-term. I wonder about the psychological blow to new investors when they realize that they would have been better off keeping their Kiwi Saver money under the mattress (or at least in a regular savings account). Is it going to discourage a lot of people from ever investing again?
Oh, there's also been some other news here.
posted by Jon A at
3:16 PM
2 Comments:
As for the "other news," I was looking forward to the morning news programs returning*, and they were over-produced Sir Ed tributes. Who would be an American equivalent? I was trying to come up with someone and drew a blank.
*Over the holidays (here that means 4-6 weeks), the morning news programs go on hiatus. No substitute anchors or fill-ins, just infomercials and cooking programs.
I agree. It seems rather over-the-top. One of the commentators, perhaps Paul Holmes (?) said of the whole affair 'it was what he deserved, but not necessarily what he would have wanted.' I don't think there's been any analogue in recent American history except perhaps the 9-11 attacks. I don't think there was even this much fuss when Reagan died, and certainly not for any American figure outside of politics, at least as far as I can recall.
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