A message from Equip's CEO

-25 March 2020-

We are experiencing significant global uncertainty and you may have questions that we can help answer. You can read about our latest updates and other relevant information below.

At Equip we pride ourselves on our dedication to members, however, our face-to-face meetings have temporarily ceased to protect the welfare of all.

We will continue to speak with you over the phone or online and we will increase our efforts to meet heightened demand. You can contact our Helpline on 1800 682 626 between 8am and 8pm EST/EDT Monday to Friday, email us, or arrange a call from a financial planner.

For further updates, please visit this page for the latest news, as it will be updated regularly during this time.

Be safe and take care.

Kind regards,

Scott Cameron
Chief Executive Officer
 

Your investments

COVID-19 has created volatile markets that have impacted investments across the world. The impact for you will depend, amongst other factors, on your choice of investment option, your account balance, time until retirement and desired lifestyle in retirement.

It may be tempting to make changes to your investment strategy given the environment. Remember however, that investing in shares and other growth assets comes with higher risks over the short term but historically has been shown to create considerable wealth over the long term.
 

Your insurance cover

During this time, we understand you may be worried about becoming ill or not receiving an income while you are unwell. If you have insurance cover through Equip for Death, Total and Permanent Disablement, and/or Income Protection, you are covered if you are diagnosed with COVID-19. Please note that conditions may apply. You can learn more about eligibility criteria and the claims process by viewing our Insurance guide.
 

Adjustment to valuations property and infrastructure assets

6 April 2020

The coronavirus has led to volatility in financial markets with share markets falling recently. This may have impacted your investments in the Fund. Depending on your choice of option, your investments are held across a diverse range of assets which helps to reduce the impact of falling share prices in uncertain times such as these. Some of these assets, such as property and infrastructure, do not trade daily or on exchanges like shares. In normal times, values for these assets are periodically struck throughout the year and then reflected in unit prices.

Given the extreme volatility we have seen in share markets we have taken the prudent step of adjusting the values of some of our property and infrastructure assets to more accurately reflect their current market value. These assets include infrastructure such as airports or property such as retail shopping centres. This has led to a decline in value of those assets, which has already been reflected in unit prices. We need to do this to ensure values, and therefore unit prices, reflect the most accurate value for all assets at that point in time, and ensure equity between members. Particularly as this applies to member transactions.

For more information on your investments and the various asset classes please visit our Product Disclosure Statement or Investment Guide.

Additional information and resources