Welcome to the July edition of the Generate KiwiSaver Scheme Newsletter.

The month of June saw some wild gyrations in financial markets on the back of the ‘Brexit’ referendum. Although many share markets substantially recovered after an initial fall it was the rising NZD that hurt the growth funds’ performance the most over the month. More on this later.

After 50 years at the helm of Berkshire Hathaway (which is currently one of our largest investments for both of our growth funds) Warren Buffett has become widely regarded as the world’s greatest investor. In his annual letters to shareholders, and in various interviews he has given, he has shared many of the lessons he has learned during his career. This month:

“Smile when you read a headline that says ‘Investors lose as market falls.’ Edit it in your mind to ‘DIS-investors lose as market falls – but investors gain. Though writers often forget this truism, there is a buyer for every seller and what hurts one necessarily helps the other.”

Here Buffett reflects on the fact that when markets fall investors do not crystallise a loss unless they sell their shares. It is usually the worse time to sell one’s shares after a significant share market fall as it crystallises losses and enables someone with a cooler head to pick up the shares at what is quite likely to be bargain prices. Buffett prefers to hang on to high quality companies through thick and thin – a theory we also subscribe to.

The benefit of compounding returns

Albert Einstein famously said “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it... he who doesn't... pays it.”

Compounding returns offer one of the most powerful ways to build wealth. It means earning returns on re-invested returns. Over time, the more returns you re-invest, the more money you have working for you, and the more you can earn. KiwiSaver funds offer a good way to capture compound returns as all of a member’s returns are re-invested into the member’s account.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Led by famed value investor Warren Buffet, Berkshire Hathaway's success has been built on the firm's record of acquiring and managing a portfolio of businesses with enduring competitive advantages.

Whether through direct ownership of individual companies or via significant shareholdings, Buffett has typically looked to acquire firms that have consistent earnings power, generate above average returns on capital, have little to no debt, and have solid management teams. Once purchased, these businesses tend to remain in Berkshire's portfolio, with sales seldom occurring.

In the early part of his career at Berkshire, Buffett focused on long-term investments in publicly quoted stocks, but more recently he has turned to buying whole companies. Berkshire now owns a diverse range of businesses including insurance, confectionery, retail, railroad, home furnishings, jewellery, newspaper publishing, and several regional electric and gas utilities. Some of the companies that Berkshire has investments in include Kraft Heinz, American Express, and Wells Fargo.

Berkshire Hathaway averaged an annual growth in market value of 20.8% p.a. for its shareholders from 1965 to 2015 (compared to 9.7% for the S&P 500 with dividends included for the same period), while employing large amounts of capital, and minimal debt.

According to the Forbes Global 2000 list and formula, Berkshire Hathaway is the fourth largest public company in the world (by market capitalisation as of May 2016).

Next month: Worldwide Healthcare Trust

If you have any questions after reading your newsletter, give us a call on 0800 855 322 or email us at info@generatekiwisaver.co.nz and we would be more than happy to help.

We thank you for your support,

The Generate Team