Dear member,
With everything going on in the world right now, it’s hard not to read the headlines (see Stuff‘s Will Trump’s tariffs kill your KiwiSaver?) about tariffs, other global tensions, and “crawling out of a recession” and feel a little bit uneasy about your retirement savings.
We’ve had a few questions come in from members, and I wanted to take a moment to hopefully ease any concerns you might have.
First things first: investing is a long game.
At SuperEasy, we’re focused on helping you grow your savings over decades, not days, weeks, or even months. Markets naturally go up and down, sometimes sharply. But history shows that, over time, markets recover and grow.
One of the big lessons from Harbour Asset Management, the experts who help us manage your investments, is that “time in the market” matters much more than trying to “time the market”.
In other words, staying invested through the ups and downs usually works out better than jumping in and out in response to scary news.
It’s normal to feel nervous.
Humans are wired to notice danger, so when markets dip or the media sounds alarm bells, we tend to focus on the negatives. Harbour puts it well: we remember the bad years much more vividly than the good ones.
But the reality is that over the long term, the good years outnumber the bad.
Markets are emotional.
Fear and greed often push prices around more than the actual news does. It’s why things can swing wildly, even when the long-term picture hasn’t changed much. That’s why our job, and yours, is to stay focused on the big picture.
Your savings are built on solid foundations.
One of the key principles in our investment approach is diversification: not putting all your eggs in one basket. That means your money is spread across different types of investments, regions, and sectors. This helps reduce risk and smooths out the bumps.
So, what should you do now?
Honestly? Probably nothing. If you’re feeling anxious, it might help to remind yourself that short-term drops are normal, expected, and usually temporary. Jumping ship during a downturn can actually lock in losses and make it harder to recover.
f you want to talk it through or check in on your investment settings, we’re always here. But in most cases, the best thing to do is take a deep breath, stay the course, and let time do its thing.
We’ve been through bumps before, and we’ll get through this one, too.
Cheers,
Charlie Howe
