NZX Opening Bell

It's hard to walk down the street at the moment without hearing 'Trump', 'Tariffs' or 'Turmoil'... but what does it all mean - especially in the context of the New Zealand economy? Sharon Zollner, Chief Economist at ANZ joins us to break down the current global economic conditions and what this means in a New Zealand context.

If the past week has taught us anything, it’s that markets can be wildly unpredictable. That’s why long-term strategy matters more than ever. The Bankers Investment Trust is focused on uncovering the best investment ideas from around the world — aiming to deliver capital growth and income that keeps ahead of inflation over time.

In this episode, we’re joined by Alex Crooke, Portfolio Manager at Bankers Investment Trust, to talk about how to invest for the long term — and why staying the course can pay off.

We're kicking off this year's NZX Opening Bell podcast with our very own, NZX CEO Mark Peterson. Mark joins us to reflect on 2024’s market performance—what drove success, the challenges faced, and the turning points that set the stage for 2025. We also dive into the key trends shaping this year, including the economic climate, and what’s on the radar for New Zealand’s listed companies. 

Join us as we explore the Latin American dairy market and its evolving relationship with Oceania. Hosted by Cristina Alvarado, with special guests Alejandro Maurino (CEO of eDairy Corp) and Fabrizio Jorge (CEO of Sistina Group). We delve into milk production trends, trade opportunities, and the potential for growth between these two key dairy regions. Plus, don’t miss expert takes on how innovation and strategy are shaping the industry’s future. Tune in now!

Interested in learning more about commercial property investment? Centuria NZ is a commercial property investment manager with over 35 years of experience, managing $20 billion in trans-Tasman office, industrial, healthcare, and agricultural assets. In this episode, CEO Mark Francis shares insights into what they look for when investing in properties, how the investment process works, and how they deliver returns for their investors. 

A week after the U.S. election, there’s been a lot of talk about how the new administration could impact New Zealand trade, especially with a proposal of 10–20% on import tariffs. To unpack this, we spoke with Charles Finny, former Wellington Chamber CEO and trade expert on the evolution of trade agreements in New Zealand and what may lie ahead for global trade relationships. 

Join us for a great conversation with Mark Lister, Investment Director at Craigs Investment Partners, as we break down what’s happening in the markets right now. We talk about how lowered interest rates are affecting homeowners and compare how New Zealand stacks up against Australia and the US. Mark also shares his thoughts on the current market conditions, the performance of tech stocks, and what he expects to see for the rest of the year. Whether you're an investor or just curious about the economy, this episode has plenty of insights and takeaways. 

 Have you or someone you know ever fallen victim to a scam? You’re not alone—there are likely more stories out there than you’d expect. As scams become increasingly sophisticated and harder to spot, anyone can be at risk. To mark World Investor Week earlier this month, we spoke with the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) to gain some insight into their efforts in promoting investor education and safeguarding the public from fraudulent schemes. 

In this episode, dairy analysts Rosalind Crickett and Lewis Hoggard explore the history of New Zealand’s milk price, its evolution in response to global market trends, and the implications for New Zealand farmers. They also break down the key components behind the NZX Milk Price Calculator and how it shapes payout projections. But first, Cristina Alvarado, NZX Commerical Manager of Data and Insights, provides an update on Fonterra’s latest announcements and their potential impact on the dairy sector.

NZX - Dairy Tools
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SGX-NZX Global Dairy Seminar 2024 - Singapore Exch...

Over the weekend our markets came together to tee off for a fantastic charity, The Little Miracles Trust, at the S&P/NZX Charity Golf Classic. The Little Miracles Trust is an incredible organisation committed to one thing, making a difficult start to life that little bit easier, and it was a pleasure to hear more about what they do in our conversation with CEO, Sarah Rusholme. 

In this episode, we chat to Channel Infrastructure's CEO, Rob Buchanan to learn more about who they are and how they’re shaping New Zealand’s fuel supply as the country's largest fuel import terminal. We talk about everything from their long-term contracts with major fuel companies to the challenges posed by electric vehicles.

We also talk to their future plans around decarbonisation, what they’re doing with their surplus land, and new projects like sustainable aviation fuel. It’s a great listen if you want to understand what’s next for NZ’s energy landscape!

In our next episode, Nick Lissette, CEO of Blackpearl Group, shares an update on the company’s growth since our last podcast, including the continued success of Pearl Diver, their innovative identification platform that transforms anonymous website visitors into potential customers. 

Nick also provides interesting insight into his journey as a tech start-up and bringing their product to the American market. If you're a tech start-up, or a company to looking to grow into international waters, this is the perfect podcast for you! 

Did you know 1 in 3 will get cancer in their lifetime? Ahead of this year's Daffodil Day (Friday, 30 August), we had the absolute privilege to sit down with the company's CEO, Nicola Coom to find out more about the incredible work they do across the country and what Daffodil Day means for them.

Make sure to donate and support the 1 in 3 this Daffodil Day: Daffodil Day 2024

Building and infrastructure is a hot topic at the moment. In line with this as our podcast theme for the month, we spoke to Infrastructure New Zealand’s CEO, Nick Leggett. Nick talks to how we need to fund, how we need to approach and how we need to speed up every part of the build and design of infrastructure, to not only keep New Zealand moving, but to also remain internationally competitive alongside our peers. 

Infrastructure NZ is holding its Building Nations conference on the 28 – 29 August in Auckland. If you would like to find out more, click...

It was great to catch up with New Zealand Rural Land's Cofounder and Director, Richard Milsom to hear about what they've been up to, trends and insights into rural land in New Zealand and what's ahead for the company. 

On Thursday, 25 June 2024 we were proud to welcome our next listing, Santana Minerials to the NZX! Santana Minerials has an exciting pipeline ahead, as an exploration company focused on developing the Bendigo-Ophir Golf project in Central Otago, New Zealand.

Want to know more about what this entails? Tune in to our next NZX Opening Bell podcast, where Chief Executive Damian Spring discusses the project and how they're using the foreign exempt pathway to attract Kiwi investors interested in supporting sustainable mineral exploration in New Zealand.

Join NZX Commercial Manager Cristina Alvarado as she delves into the future of the dairy industry with renowned expert Jeremy Hill. As Fonterra's Chief Science and Technology Officer, Jeremy shares insights on dairy's evolving role in nutrition, sustainability goals, and innovative developments in dairy science and technology.

First up, Cristina and NZX Dairy Analysts Lewis Hoggard and Rosalind Crickett give an update on the outcome of the Synlait Shareholders meeting and Fonterra volumes ahead of GDT Event 360.

In this episode of NZX’s Opening Bell, we speak to Fisher & Paykel Healthcare’s Chief Operating Officer, Andy Niccol as part of our healthcare theme. As a company that has driven innovation in healthcare technologies for over 50 years, we learnt more about the company’s growth and their key to success as a Kiwi company on a global stage.  

AFT Pharmaceuticals is a great example of Kiwi ingenuity - growing from foundations in a garage in 1998, to selling its products in 70 countries across the world today. The teams drive? Using innovation to make a real difference to people's lives. For our June podcast series, focused on health, it was a pleasure to talk to AFT Pharmaceutical’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive, Dr. Hartley Atkinson on the company’s growth and aspirations for the future. 

"Sometimes people think innovation is a separate team, but I think the best companies - a lot of the best ideas come from people throughout the organisation... We do a lot of thinking about how we can harness their ideas." Gentrack's Chief Technology Officer, Mark Rees joined us on our NZX Opening Bell Podcast for tech month to discuss the importance of innovation within the tech industry and how they foster ideas within the organisation. 

It was wonderful to have TradeWindow's Andrew Balgarnie back in the studio for our tech month to talk about how TradeWindow is progressing in providing end-to-end digital trade to leading global brands in dairy, meat, seafood, horticulture, timber, manufacturing and freight forwarding.

Lights, camera, action! As strong movie enthusiasts, it’s awesome to hear how Vista Group's Stuart Dickinson and Matthew Liebmann have turned their passion to profession, as they explain how Vista Group provides tech solutions to the global film industry to bring people together to experience the magic of movies and cinema. 

With sustainable fishing being incredibly topical at the moment, what better way to finish our sustainability podcast series than by talking to Carl Carrington and Ben Rodgers at New Zealand King Salmon!? Carl and Ben talk about how their company has learned to work and adapt with climate change for ideal growth of their salmon, as well as exciting opportunities ahead, such as Blue Endeavour.  

Earlier this month we were proud to welcome our first listing for 2024, BeingAI to the NZX! BeingAI is a company at the forefront of bringing groundbreaking technology to business operations. In such an exciting era for the team, we spoke to the company’s Chair Sean Joyce and CEO David McDonald about the inspiration for the company, why they listed on the NZX and their exciting future ahead. 

In this episode of The Opening Bell, we hear from Adam Davis, Co-founder of Farrer Capital Management, on the recent resurgence of interest in agricultural commodities trading. Adam delves into the drivers behind this trend, the impact of climate change on agricultural markets, emerging trends and sectors within the commodity market, and the significant challenges facing the global commodity market today. 

At Bremworth, sustainability is intricately woven into all aspects of the company’s fabric. We were joined by the company’s CEO, Greg Smith to discuss the inspiration and opportunity to take the transformative leap to focus purely on wool carpets and rugs and how they’re working hard alongside their customers to go good together.

Now more than ever sustainability is front of mind for both investors and companies. As we delve into our sustainability podcast series this month, we had the privilege of chatting with Hannah Taylor, Head of Sustainability at Chorus. Hannah shares invaluable insights and trends shaping the sector, including the latest developments in mandatory climate change reporting for listed companies.

In this episode of the Opening Bell, NZX's James Atkinson is joined by William Loux from US Dairy Export Council, and James Robertson from Fonterra for a panel discussion on the export dynamics in the dairy industry. James and William cover global milk supply, and challenges around weakening Chinese demand, as well as a shift in consumer preferences, dietary trends, and where the opportunities lie for growth and innovation in the dairy market.

Seeka’s CFO, Nicola Neilson joins us to talk about what got her initially interested in the finance industry, the role senior leaders need to play in influencing change in gender pay and equal opportunities, and how Seeka is working towards closing the gender pay gap.

Continuing our spotlight of female leaders within the capital markets, it was a pleasure to have a conversation with Anna Scott, CEO of Smartshares. We discussed what got her into the finance industry, what it means to be a female leader and her first six months as CEO. As a mentor for others, Anna shares insights into the importance of remaining adaptable and, rather than sticking to a five-ten year plan, figuring out what you love doing, and what you're good at doing, and building on that. 

Interested in a career in finance?  For our next Opening Bell podcast, Craigs Investment Partners Head of Strategy, Hannah Gillespie joins us to discuss her journey within financial markets and what her role as Head of Strategy entails. Hannah also talks to the diversity of career opportunities within the sector and how a successful career in markets doesn’t need to begin with studying finance, rather a ‘give it a go’, problem solving attitude. 

For our next Opening Bell podcast, we had the privilege to speak to Joan Withers, a highly distinguished Chair and Professional Director, as part of our celebration of female leaders within the capital markets during the month of March. Joan talks to her career journey to date – including challenges entering the workforce following six years as a stay-at-home mum, the importance of taking every opportunity and advice for those interested in moving up in their career or looking at directorship roles.  

Despite donating to charities being common in New Zealand, social investment is often not talked about. To help encourage more conversation, Jarden and ImpactLab have teamed up to create a report which delves into Social Return of Investment in the charities sector. To discuss the findings, we spoke to Jarden’s Chris Wilson and ImpactLab’s Sir Bill English on the importance of donating and social investment within an asset portfolio. 

In complex economic conditions, we were joined by ASB’s Chief Economist, Nick Tuffley to discuss the role of an economist, the macro-economic trends as to why New Zealand is experiencing high interest rates and the importance of raising productivity in the year ahead. 

Nick also provides interesting insights into global trends - including the American election and ongoing geo-political tensions, and how that could have an impact on New Zealand in 2024. 

With cocoa futures trading at all-time highs, NZX Commercial Manager Cristina Alvarado is joined by Martijn Bron, former Head of Cocoa Trading at Cargill, who shares his insights and experience in trading cocoa markets, and what has changed in the last 20 years. First up, NZX Dairy Analysts Rosalind Crickett and Lewis Hoggard give us an update on global dairy markets.

To kickstart our year of NZX Opening Bell podcasts we sat down with our Chief Executive, Mark Peterson to talk all things markets. Following the release of our 2023 Annual Results, Mark highlights NZX Group's solid performance amidst tough market conditions. Mark also shares exciting opportunities ahead for both the company and the capital markets ecosystem in the upcoming year.

With the rise in cyber-attacks impacting both companies and individuals, we sat down with Aura Information Security’s Principal Virtual Security Officer, Alastair Miller on steps you can take to protect yourself and your business. Alastair covers common attack methods, why we are noticing a rise in attacks and where you should look for more information if a company you are invested in gets attacked. 

Following an extremely successful year, it was wonderful to have Gentrack’s CEO, Gary Miles join us back on the podcast to provide an interesting update on energy transformation, the three waters program and other exciting programs across the world that will provide opportunities for Gentrack and shareholders. 

As a company who has been investing in Australian and New Zealand equities since 1928, Australian Foundation Investment Company (AFIC) are well versed to investment strategies and how to find good companies to invest in. Tune in to find out more about the company through our chat with the companies Managing Director, Mark Freeman. 

With property being a hot topic in New Zealand, it was fascinating to speak to Argosy’s Chief Executive, Peter Mence and Head of Sustainability, Saatyesh Bhana on the company's commercial property portfolio and why they are shifting their focus to green buildings.