Fund sees tough year ahead

By DALE LUMA
NAMBAWAN Super says 2020 is going to be a tough year for the fund in terms of investments, but believe it is “too early to call”.
Chief executive officer Paul Sayer told The National that “our investment team is always monitoring investment performance”.
“Due to the Covid-19, we have focused on liquidity, and are holding higher cash reserves,” he said.
“This is to ensure members have funds available when needed.
“But we are also looking to improve the returns from opportunities.
“Nambawan Super manages a diverse and balanced portfolio of investments.
“Super is for the long term and it’s early in the year. Our investment team is looking for opportunities to claw back impacts from the rapid downturn.
“Some investment markets have shown negative results earlier in 2020, but are already showing signs of turning around.
“How quickly the country and global economies start showing improvements in economic activity and investment returns from this point will determine the end result.” Sayer said under the “excellent regulatory environment embedded since 2002”, the superannuation funds had enjoyed 20 years of growth.
“Nambawan Super operates an investment portfolio with the risk of a negative return in four out of 20 years, and yet Nambawan Super members have enjoyed 20 years of positive returns,” he said.
“We continue to manage the fund to maximise returns within this risk tolerance. If Nambawan Super does make a loss in 2020, it is not due to poor management or poor regulation, but the perfect storm of poor local economic conditions coupled with a biggest global economic downturn in 100 years.
“We must trust that we are investing for the long term and at times we must hold our nerve and wait for the eventual market recoveries that we know do occur.”