International Equities
World equity markets continued their upward trajectory in July, rising 1.4% in USD and 4.7% in NZD as the USD strengthened materially during the month. Overall sentiment was lifted by a solid start to Q2 earnings season, particularly from U.S. technology companies.
Our strongest performers this month came from the technology and travel sectors, both of which delivered strong earnings or benefited from improving demand. Arista Networks rose 20.4% on improved optimism regarding demand from cloud providers and AI-related investments. Oracle gained 16.3% as investors grew more confident in the durability of its cloud infrastructure growth, and Nvidia continued its strong performance, adding 12.6%, on positive news about continued investments in AI datacenters. Our investments in airlines also performed well, with United Airlines gaining 10.9%, supported by resilient travel demand for its premium offerings and declining jet fuel prices.
On the downside, health insurers were weak across the board. Elevance Health fell 27.2%, and UnitedHealth dropped 20.0%, both hit by rising medical costs, particularly for Medicaid and Medicare Advantage patients, and growing concern that margin compression may persist in the second half of the year and into 2026.
Overall, July was a month of continued market optimism, but one in which macro risks, particularly around trade policy, returned as areas to watch. We remain constructive overall, and particularly on our technology investments.
New Zealand & Australian equities
New Zealand and Australian markets both enjoyed positive returns over the month of July with the S&P/NZX50 and S&P/ASX200 returning 1.8% and 2.4% respectively. The month was relatively subdued in terms of news flow, as both investors and companies prepared for the upcoming reporting season.
Key performers for the month included Infratil (9.7%), Ebos (6.4%), and Computershare (5.7%). Infratil’s share price increased primarily due to its inclusion in the S&P/ASX 200 index, as determined by S&P. This led to passive funds tracking the index purchasing shares to maintain index replication after the inclusion. Additionally, the passing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) in Congress early in the month may allow an additional 800MWs of Longroad’s renewable energy projects, owned by Infratil, to avoid the rollback of certain tax incentives via the option of a safe harbour programme. This takes the total volume of projects that Infratil expects to be safeharboured to 2.6GWs. Lastly, ongoing share acquisitions by senior executives and Board members have also been received positively.
Mainfreight declined 10.2% after the company reported a tough start to FY26 at their annual general meeting. While Group revenue rose 1.5%, profit margins moved sharply lower, resulting in a 24% drop in profit before tax for the first 17 weeks of the new financial year. Revenue growth in transport and warehousing was offset by higher operating expenses and continued margin pressure. While Mainfreight is a quality company with attractive long-term potential, the uncertainty around near-term trading has been enough to give the market pause. certainty around near-term trading has been enough to give the market pause.
Returns to the 31st of July 2025
(after fees* and before tax)
Generate KiwiSaver Funds:
1 Month
1 Year
5 Year (p.a.)
10 Year (p.a.)
Since inception**
(p.a.)
Focused
Growth Fund
1.58%
10.06%
9.94%
8.97%
9.97%
Growth
Fund
1.45%
8.75%
8.87%
8.31%
9.06%
Balanced Fund^
1.21%
7.75%
9.23%
Moderate Fund***
0.97%
7.13%
5.33%
5.62%
5.78%
Conservative Fund^
0.74%
6.24%
6.03%
CashPlus Fund^
0.31%
5.20%
4.65%
Thematic Fund^^^
1.20%
Global Fund^^^
1.40%
Australasian Fund^^^
2.16%
Generate Managed Funds:
1 Month
1 Year
5 Year (p.a.)
10 Year (p.a.)
Since inception** (p.a)
Focused Growth Managed Fund***
1.58%
10.04%
9.86%
8.83%
Balanced Managed Fund^
1.20%
7.68%
9.28%
Conservative Managed Fund^
0.75%
6.31%
6.01%
Thematic Managed Fund^^
1.19%
18.57%
22.82%
Australasian Managed Fund^^
2.15%
3.21%
5.69%
Global Managed Fund^^^
1.39%
CashPlus Managed Fund^^^
0.30%
Fixed Interest Managed Fund^^^
0.56%
* Except for the $3 per member per month administration expense that is charged to KiwiSaver members.
** The Generate KiwiSaver Scheme funds opened on 16 April 2013. The Generate Focused Growth Trust opened on 1 November 2019.
***Following the launch of new funds in May 2022, our original Conservative Fund was renamed as the Moderate Fund and the Focused Growth Trust has been renamed as the Focused Growth Managed Fund.
^ these funds were established on 16 May 2022.
^^ these funds were established on 3 July 2023.
^^^ these funds were established on 30 April 2025.
Past performance is not necessarily an indicator of future performance.
Top Holdings as of the 31st of July 2025
International Equities
Nvidia
Amazon
Microsoft
Alphabet
Taiwan Semiconductor
External Managers
T Rowe Price Global Equity Fund
Te Ahumairangi Global Equity Fund
Worldwide Healthcare Trust
CIM Infrastructure III Fund
Heal Partners Fund II
Australasian Equities
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
Infratil
Contact Energy
Goodman Group
Spark
Fixed Income
Local Government Funding Agency Bonds
NZ Government Bonds
Kāinga Ora Bonds
NZMS 1st Notes
Westpac Australia Bonds