New Zealand's biggest fund loses $1.4b

The fund, which is New Zealand's largest, was down 5.6% to $17.6 billion during that period, blaming falling equity markets for the decline.

It reached its peak at just over $19 billion in June last year after its best performance to date in the 2010/2011 financial year, when it achieved an absolute return (after fees but before tax) of 25%.

This continued the bounce in 2009/2010 where the fund returned more than 15%, after its worst year in 2008/2009 when the global financial crisis saw it slump to a 22% loss.

However, markets hit a speed bump late last year amid concerns about government debt in Europe and the slow recovery in the US.