The Reserve Bank is expecting house prices in New Zealand to rise about 4.5% this year but that’s a much more modest increase than has been the case historically, according to RBNZ assistant governor for money Karen Silk.

The Reserve Bank expects about 45% of mortgages will be refixed in the June and September quarters with advertised rates for one and two-year fixed mortgages having fallen below 5% for the first time since 2022.

The Reserve Bank is signalling just two further cuts in the official cash rate (OCR) in the current cycle, with the OCR bottoming at 2.9% in the December quarter and remaining at that level through to the March quarter of 2027.

The financial services industry is welcoming the increase in KiwiSaver contribution rates while expressing some concern about the halving of government contributions and the impact on employers at a tough time for the economy.

Investment advisers should work on removing small irritants to their clients that could have significant detrimental consequences to their businesses, Morningstar’s global head of behavioural insights, Ryan Murphy, told his company’s investment conference in Sydney.

ANZ Bank New Zealand’s reliance on advisers to originate mortgages fell slightly to 59% of net new lending in the six months ended March 31 compared with 61% in the previous first half.

Only a small amount of the two percentage point cut in the official cash rate (OCR) since August last year has fed into weighted average mortgage rates so far, according to the Reserve Bank.

House prices and rent increases are likely to be restrained in the near term because of the softness of the housing market, the Reserve Bank says in its latest financial stability report.

Foundation Life’s shareholders say they “share our policyholders’ frustration” at the time it has taken to finalise a plan to wind up the near $500 million business while giving policyholders choices about whether to take cash, swap for new policies with greater benefits or a combination.

Craigs Investment Partners’ latest results for calendar 2024 provide some clues about the degree to which it has become more a fund manager than a stock broker, although its merchant banking fees and funds management fees are reported as a single line item.

Mortgage advisers accounted for about 64% of the net new mortgages Westpac New Zealand wrote in the six months ended March.

Westpac New Zealand sped up its pace of mortgage lending in the six months ended March, adding $1.51 billion in net new mortgages after growth of only a third of that in the previous six months ended September.

ANZ Investments, the biggest KiwiSaver provider, has had a rethink of its investment beliefs and made changes to how it manages funds.

Milford Asset Management’s KiwiSaver funds enjoyed a better performance than all other KiwiSaver funds in the March quarter but returns were generally poor, the latest Melville Jessup Weaver survey shows.

Elevation Capital founder Chris Swasbrook is expecting that the huge following Blackbull Markets analyst Eden Bradfield has built up will be instrumental in helping to grow the size of his firm’s funds under management, currently $175 million.