We’re back to level 1 and the new normal is becoming less ‘new’ and more ‘normal’.

That said, we haven’t escaped the coronavirus unscathed. A fair few of us have taken a haircut over the last months – though it looks like one particular investment class has fared better than most. I think you can guess which one.

NZ50

While it may have clawed its way back following the initial lockdown, the pandemic took a big chunk out of the value of the top 50 New Zealand companies; a chunk to the tune of an approximate 25% drop in value. Even now, months later, it’s yet to rise all the way back to its previous peak.

Shareholders across NZ were sweating and might still be feeling a little panicky as we head towards the end of the wage subsidies too.

Term deposits

Term deposits have never exactly been huge earners, but investors don’t choose them for growth, it’s the stability they like. It’s too bad that the impact of COVID chopped their earnings down to size, falling a full 100 basis points since March – and the rates weren’t great to start with!

Even the so-called ‘stable’ investments are looking rocky in the face of the coronavirus.

Business

Working for yourself is great, but it requires investment, time, willpower, and of course, capital. It’s a tough gig at the best of times, but risk means reward – unless you’re doing it over COVID.

While the virus affected every industry differently, coronavirus has now become a general by-word for ‘nightmare’ among small business owners. When lockdown hit, there was a record fall in monthly electronic card sales according to Stats NZ, and while supermarkets in March hit a spike from all the toilet roll hoarders, retail, motor vehicles, accommodation – you name it – had their income slashed.

Considering how many small business owners are now worried that they’ll never be able to open their doors again, it’s clear that a significant amount of capital has been lost to the virus.

Property

So that’s stocks, term deposits, and business – what about property? Things slowed down for sure – hard to go to open homes during quarantine – but the actual value of real estate hasn’t really been impacted. The REINZ HPI is up 8.6% in June compared to the same time last year, and the days to sell remains at a decent 45 days. If anything, property has remained remarkably resilient.

It appears that even with lockdown, even with business shutdowns, even with crises and quarantines and goodness knows what else, the old adage remains true: everybody still needs a roof over their heads.