NZX’s half year 2015 shareholder metrics highlight the progression of NZX’s funds management strategy, along with steady growth in NZX’s capital markets businesses.
NZX’s newly acquired business SuperLife saw growth of 27.7% in funds under management in its KiwiSaver scheme, and total funds under management up 13.2% over the past 12 months.
The SuperLife acquisition has also provided the seed capital for NZX’s Smartshares business to launch new Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). Five new ETFs have launched since December 2014, with a further nine global equities ETFs scheduled to list tomorrow. Excluding funds invested by SuperLife, Smartshares funds under management increased 16.8% over the past year. Total units on issue increased 64.6%.
In the capital markets, trade volumes and trade values both saw steady growth over the period, up 5.5% and 1.9% respectively on 1H 2014.
NZX welcomed the listing of G3 Group Limited in June, the first company to list on the NXT market, a new market designed for small and mid-sized businesses. Including G3, there were two IPOs in the first half of 2015 (Fliway Group listed on the Main Board in April) however new equity listed was down 93.2% on the prior comparable period, which included the $1.8 billion listing of Genesis Energy. Conversely, secondary capital raising saw good growth, up 49.5% on 1H 2014. Total equity market capitalisation was $100.2 billion at the end of June, up 13.3% on June 2014.
Declines in the dairy price and drought conditions early in the period have negatively impacted advertising spend in the agri sector, with total paid advertising page equivalents in NZX’s agri publications down 17.4% on the prior comparable period. By contrast, dairy derivatives continued its path of rapid growth, with total lots traded up 142.7% on the prior comparable period, including a record month for lots traded in May 2015 of 18,255.
NZX’s Australian grain trading business, Clear Grain Exchange saw a small lift in tonnes traded during Q2 2015. Despite this, total trades over the period of 241,806 were down 23.8% on the prior year, a result of a smaller harvest and the majority of grain being sold in Q4 2014.
NZX Regulation metrics commentary
NZX also released its Q2 2015 regulation metrics today. These show that NZX Regulation commenced 25 investigations during the quarter in relation to Issuers, in addition to the 3 investigations that were ongoing at the beginning of the quarter. There were 17 investigations into participants commenced during Q2 2015, in addition to the 2 investigations that were ongoing at the beginning of the quarter. 10 investigations relating to issuers and participants remained ongoing at the end of the quarter.
In May, NZX welcomed the Financial Markets Authority’s (FMA) fourth annual General Obligations Review, which assesses and reports on NZX’s compliance with its statutory obligations. The FMA’s report concluded that during the 2014 review period NZX complied with all of its statutory obligations, and the FMA did not require NZX to take any specific actions following this current review. The FMA also noted:
• NZX has effective arrangements for operating fair, orderly and transparent markets, and its activities during 2014 demonstrated a commitment to continuous improvement, ensuring its ongoing compliance with the statutory obligations
• The actions delivered by NZX in 2014 have further strengthened NZX’s arrangements for handling conflicts, monitoring conduct and enforcing compliance
• There is now greater visibility and market awareness of NZX’s regulatory activities and outcomes
Also in May, NZX signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Takeovers Panel. The MoU sets out a framework for engagement and cooperation between the two regulators, taking into account their respective roles.
During the quarter, the NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal issued 8 determinations. Details can be viewed at: https://nzx.com/NZMDT/tribunal-decisions
The NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal also released its 2014 annual report during the quarter, which provides further information about NZX Regulation’s enforcement activities over the 1 January 2014 - 31 December 2014 review period. The annual report can be found at: http://nzx.com/NZMDT/annual-reports