Life insurance ($m) - T42

The Data: Coverage, Periodicity, and Timeliness

Coverage characteristics

Collects the balance sheet of investment funds including the assets and liabilities, and funds managed by investment managers either by way of "pooling" funds or individually managing them.

Investments managers with total assets of more than $500 million are surveyed quarterly and investment managers with total assets of less than $500 million are surveyed annually.

The survey does not include funds from the New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZSF) or Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC). Data about these funds are available on the NZSF and ACC websites.

The survey was redesigned in 2014.

Periodicity

Quarterly

Timeliness

Data is released approximately two months after the reference quarter.

Access by the public

Statistics release calendar

The Statistics Release Calendar provides a long-term plan of scheduled releases. It is updated and released on the first working day of the month.

Integrity

Dissemination of terms and conditions under which official statistics are produced, including confidentiality of individual responses

Data are collected under Section 36 of The Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989 (The Act).

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand publishes only aggregated data. Individual institutional data is confidential.

Provision of information about revisions and advance notice of major changes in methodology

Provisional data are italicised. Data are deemed provisional when a series is under review. New data, or revised data, are in bold font. This applies to the summary table only and not excel files. Revisions are generally published when a table is next due to be updated and released. Should revisions need to be made more promptly, a note is posted on the website. Any major changes in methodology are posted on the website as a note.

Quality

Dissemination of documentation on methodology and sources used in preparing statistics

Data are collected by the Reserve Bank and shared with Statistics New Zealand for the purpose of Balance of Payments and the International Investment Position.

An Excel template is completed and returned each quarter by quarterly managed funds respondents and annually from small managed funds respondents. The template includes a file that specifies procedures and definitions for survey respondents.

Managed Funds

Life office funds

Funds used to back policy holders' claims on life office companies offering life insurance and related annuities, as well as statutory funds.

KiwiSaver funds

All KiwiSaver schemes that are registered with the Financial Markets Authority (FMA).

Registered superannuation funds

Other (non-KiwiSaver) superannuation schemes that are registered with the FMA.

Retail unit trusts and Group Investment Funds (GIFs)

These include only financial investment funds i.e. funds whose assets are predominantly financial assets. Funds whose assets are predominantly direct holdings of property and infrastructure should are not included. However, funds that are predominantly holding shares or equity in property companies, rather than holding property directly, are included. Retail unit trusts and GIFs are the legal owner of the assets and issue units to the general public within New Zealand; and invest the pooled monies. They must have registered a prospectus with the New Zealand Companies Office, and some are listed on NZX. Retail unit trusts and GIFs exclude cash management trusts and wholesale trusts.

Cash management trusts

Unit trusts which are governed by a trust deed. These unit trusts can be either open or closed to the general public, and generally confine their investments (as authorised by the trust deed) to financial securities available through the short term money market. Cash management trusts issue units in the trust that are redeemable by the unit holder on demand. In this survey, cash management trusts include all trusts, both open to the general public and those that are not. Cash management trusts are money market funds (MMF) that typically invest in money market instruments with a maturity of less than one year only.

Wholesale trusts

Restricted entry financial trusts, and are not open to the general public. These trusts are investment vehicles enabling institutional investors to pool their monies to invest in one or more underlying investments. Wholesale trusts are the legal owner of the assets, and investors own units in the wholesale trust. Wholesale trusts are classified as non-money-market funds (non-MMF) that typically invest in a wide range of instruments.

Individually managed portfolios (IMP)

In an IMP, a client's funds are invested directly by the fund manager on their behalf rather than being pooled. Individually managed portfolios consist of two broad categories: private wealth funds and other IMP.

Sources

Households

The household sector includes individuals, family trusts and estates.

Non-profit institutions

Non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) includes organisations that provide goods or services to their members, or to other households, without charge or at prices that are not economically significant. The two main kinds of organisations included are:

• community and social groups, such as trade unions, professional or learned societies, consumers' associations, political parties, churches or religious societies, and social, cultural, recreational, and sports clubs;
• philanthropic organisations, such as charities, and relief and aid organisations, financed by voluntary transfers in cash or in kind from other institutional units.

Corporate business

Examples of the types of entities classified as corporate business enterprises include:

• registered private companies
• publically listed companies
• branches of non-resident corporate business enterprises
• head offices with mainly non-financial business enterprises as subsidiaries
• state-owned enterprises (SOEs)
• market-orientated council controlled organisations

Non-corporate business

These include sole proprietorships, small partnerships, and unincorporated businesses owned by the household sector.

Other financial investment funds

Other financial investment funds include investment funds that pool investor's funds for investment in financial or non-financial assets. These include:

• Money market investment funds
• Non-money market investment funds
• Pension funds

Other financial institutions

Other financial institutions include other financial institutions not included in ‘Registered banks' or ‘Other depository institutions'. Other financial institutions provide mainly financial services, including financial intermediation, financial risk management, liquidity transformation, and various supporting activities. These include:

• Insurance corporations
• Other financial intermediaries
• Financial auxiliaries (entities that service financial markets but do not own the financial assets or incur the liabilities they handle)
• Captive financial institutions (entities that do not provide financial services to the market but only to a restricted range of clients)

Central government

The central government sector includes organisational units of central government responsible for functions such as taxation, law and order, defence, and those responsible for advancing the economic and social well-being of the country in other ways. Major subsectors are:

• government departments
• offices of parliament
• crown entities including Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), the Earthquake Commission (EQC) and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZSF).
• Debt Management Office, a division of The Treasury
• Non-profit institutions that serve groups of government organisations (eg New Zealand School Trustees Association).

Note: State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are included in "Corporate businesses".

Local government

Local government consists of territorial authorities and regional councils, as well as other non-market units and non-profit institutions they control. They are responsible for functions such as town planning, providing local infrastructure, libraries, museums, and sports grounds.

Note: Market-orientated council controlled organisations are included in "Corporate businesses".

Wholesale trusts

Wholesale trusts are restricted entry financial trusts, and are not open to the general public. These trusts are an investment vehicle enabling institutional investors to pool their monies to invest in one or more underlying investments. Wholesale trusts are the legal owner of the assets, and investors own units in the wholesale trust.

Other

Not included in any of the sources above.

Assets

Consolidated assets

Consolidated assets are derived by eliminating any cross-investment that takes place between various types of institutions.

Unconsolidated assets

Unconsolidated assets include cross investments that take place between various types of institutions.

Cross invested assets

Cross invested assets are funds that are invested in other funds.

New Zealand assets

Closing values at the end of the quarter for investments in New Zealand resident issued assets. These include:

• Cash and deposits
• Short-term debt securities
• Long-term debt securities
• Shares, listed
• Shares, unlisted
• Units in listed trusts
• Units in unlisted trusts
• Derivatives in a net asset position
• Other financial assets
• Non-financial assets

Overseas assets

Closing values at the end of the quarter for investments in non-resident issued assets. These include:

• Cash and deposits
• Short-term debt securities
• Long-term debt securities
• Shares, listed
• Shares, unlisted
• Units in listed trusts
• Units in unlisted trusts
• Derivatives in a net asset position
• Other financial assets
• Non-financial assets

Cash and deposits

These include ‘cash at bank', transferable deposits directly useable for making payments and fixed term deposits. Amounts are redeemable or withdrawable (with or without penalty) and are usually held with registered banks or other deposit taking institutions.

• Cash and deposits include deposits held with registered banks or other deposit taking institutions.
• Cash and deposits do not include loans and advances, debt securities, or securities purchased under agreement to resell.

Loans

Loans (or receivables) are financial assets for the creditor with fixed or determinable payments that are not quoted in an active market (see paragraph 9 of NZ IAS 39).

Loans are financial assets that (1) are created when a creditor lends funds directly to a debtor, and (2) are evidenced by non-negotiable documents.

This category includes all loans and advances - except accounts receivable, which are treated as a separate category of financial assets - extended to various sectors by financial corporations, governments, and by other sectors.

Loans are borrowings which are not evidenced by the issue of debt securities. Placements are customers' account balances with entities not regarded as deposit taking institutions.

Loans include:

• Overdrafts
• Secured and unsecured borrowings
• Financial lease agreements
• Account balances with institutions which do not qualify as deposit taking institutions - see deposit taking institutions in the "Institutional sectors" section of this document.
• Money placed with corporate treasuries.
• Securities purchased under agreement to resell.

Loans do not include:

• Bills of exchange, Certificate of deposit (CDs) or negotiable certificate of deposit (NCDs), commercial paper and promissory notes - these are categorised as Short-term debt securities.
• Bonds, debentures, medium term notes (MTNs), transferable certificates of deposit (TCDs), floating-rate notes (FRNs) - these are categorised as Long-term debt securities.
• Account balances with financial intermediaries deemed to be deposit taking institutions, such as banks - these are categorised as deposits.

Debt securities

Debt securities are negotiable instruments serving as evidence of a debt. They can be bought or sold between two parties and have basic terms defined such as notional amount (amount borrowed), interest rate and maturity/renewal date.

Short Term (ST) debt securities

• Short term debt securities include debt securities that have an original term to maturity of 1 year or less.
• Instruments that are short-term debt securities include:

• Bills of exchange
• Certificate of deposit (CDs) or negotiable certificate of deposit (NCDs)
• Commercial paper
• Euronotes
• Treasury bills

• Short term debt securities do not include:
  • Debt securities which have an original term to maturity of more than one year.
  • Loans and advances, or securities purchased under agreement to resell.

Long Term (LT) debt securities

• Long term debt securities include debt securities that have an original term to maturity of greater than 1 year.
• Instruments that are long-term debt securities include:

• Asset backed securities or mortgage backed bonds/securities
• Bonds (government bonds, local body bonds, corporate bonds, zero-coupon securities, discounted securities, Eurokiwi, Kauri bonds, currency linked bonds or convertible notes)
• Collateralised securities
• Debentures
• Euro-medium term notes
• Floating-rate notes (FRNs)
• Medium term notes (MTNs)
• Preferred stock

• Long term debt securities do not include:
  • Debt securities that have an original term to maturity of 1 year or less.
  • Loans and advances, securities purchased under agreement to resell, or derivatives.

Shares

Shares are referred to as equity and represent ownership of part of a company. In this survey shares are categorised as listed shares and unlisted shares. Listed shares are those that are listed on an exchange, while unlisted shares represent private ownership in a company or equity in a subsidiary or related company. Shares in foreign-companies (even though they may be trading in the NZX) are included as non-resident shares.

Listed shares comprise shares in companies quoted on an official stock exchange i.e. New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) or Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), etc.

Listed shares include:

• Listed ordinary shares
• Listed participating preference shares (a special type where the holder has an entitlement to a share in the residual value on dissolution of the issuing company)
• Shares borrowed or purchased under repurchase agreements

Listed shares do not include:

• Equity derivatives, such as exchange traded options (include as Derivatives in a net asset position)
• Units in listed trusts (include as Units in trusts)
• Shares lent or sold under repurchase agreements

Unlisted shares are not available for purchase or sale through a stock exchange.

Units in trusts

Units in trusts are securities which are similar to equity but represent ownership of part of a trust rather than a company.

Derivatives in a net asset position

A derivative is a financial instrument linked to a specific 'underlying' financial instrument, indicator or commodity, through which specific financial risks can be traded in their own right. The relevant accounting definition of a derivative is in paragraph 9 of NZ IAS 39.

Derivatives are instruments that derive their value from an underlying asset, an index or reference rate.

Derivatives in a net asset position are contracts where the market value of the closing position is positive at the reporting date.

Derivative contracts can either be binding on both parties (as with a currency swap) or subject to the exercise by one party of a right contained in the contract (as with options).

Derivatives include:

• Options including call and put options; exchange traded and over-the-counter options; interest rate, bullion, commodity and equity options; warrants and swaptions
• Interest-rate swaps
• Cross currency interest rate swaps
• Currency swaps
• Futures (e.g. bank bill, bond)
• Forward rate agreements
• Forward foreign-exchange contracts
• Employee stock options

Other financial assets

All financial assets not already classified in one of the other instruments noted above.

Other financial assets include:

• Accounts receivable or trade creditors

Other financial assets do not include:

• Net positions in derivatives (there are separate categories for derivatives)

Non-financial assets

Non-financial assets in this survey include all economic assets other than financial assets which do not represent claims on other units but are stores of value and provide benefits in the form of property income.

Non-financial assets include:

• Forestry
• Farming
• Direct property
• Infrastructure
• Physical commodities

Series breaks

Changes to the Managed Funds Survey

The Managed Funds Survey was redeveloped in 2014 to reflect changes in the managed funds industry and bring the statistics in line with international best practice.

Some statistics have been backdated to December 2003 using data from the old Managed Funds Survey. However, due to changes in the survey methodology and definitions some data may not be directly comparable.

No "look through" of investments in retail and wholesale trusts

In the old survey respondents were asked to "look through" investments in retail and wholesale trusts and report the underlying assets. For example a Kiwisaver investment fund that invested in a wholesale trust reported the assets that the wholesale trust then invested in.

In the new survey respondents do not "look through" investments in retail and wholesale trusts. For example a Kiwisaver investment fund that invests in a wholesale trust reports an investment in units in a wholesale trust. The investment manager that operates the wholesale trust reports the assets these funds are then invested in.

This has resulted in a series break in some assets types in June 2014.

• Short and long-term debt securities decreases
• Units in trusts increases
• Overseas assets decreases

Retail unit trusts

In the old survey Cash Management Trusts were reported under Retail Unit Trusts. The new survey identifies investments in Cash Management Trusts separately. .

This has resulted in a series break in the assets reported under Retail Unit Trusts in June 2014.