Crikey, it’s been a bit brisk out there, hasn’t it? Hope you’ve got your woollies on and a cuppa in hand.
Let’s dive into what’s been happening at Squirrel HQ this June. We’ve got some interest rate changes, platform updates and a couple of fresh faces that have joined the Squirrel family.
Falling interest rates
We’re lowering our Term Investment rates from Thursday 19 June to reflect the shift in the wider market. Here’s what’s changing:
It’s a gentle slide, and from what we’re seeing, we don’t expect them to fall much further. Phew.
Naturally, with our Term Investment rates dropping, the return on our Monthly Income Fund will follow suit by a similar amount.
Deposit Compensation Scheme
For those that missed last month's webinar, catch up here. In a nutshell:
- On-call Account – covered by the scheme. Your funds are held on trust with BNZ and Westpac, so they’re protected (subject to your direct deposits with those banks if you have any).
- Term Investments and Managed Funds - not covered by the scheme.
We've noticed some finance companies are highlighting the scheme in their advertising, and fair enough, it’s a big change for the sector. The cost of being included is light relative to the risk, which we don’t think will lead to good outcomes. It’s an interesting shift that we’re keeping a close eye on.
Loan portfolio update
Things are chugging along nicely on the loan front. Construction loans are still hanging around a bit longer that we'd like, but the market's starting to move again, and we're comfortable with the progress we're seeing.
Our reserve funds continue to grow and are there as a buffer should defaults crop up.
Investor platform updates
We’re in the thick of a pretty big update of the investing platform. The full rollout will land early next year, but some changes are already live, including updates to Personal Loan Term Investments and a bit of a visual refresh.
Plenty more to come — we’ll keep you posted.
Welcome to the team
A big Squirrel welcome to Lydia and Lucas, who’ve joined our service team. We’ve also got Will and Jacob now providing weekend support (in between their coffee runs).
Your feedback consistently tells us we’re doing alright on the service front, so thanks for the shoutouts – keep ‘em coming!