Kiwi Wealth KiwiSaver Scheme

Kiwi Wealth is a 100% New Zealand owned investment company that is part of the same group as KiwiBank; it’s KiwiSaver scheme thus works well for KiwiBank customers; the company is ultimately owned by the NZ Super Fund, ACC and NZ Post, so its profits stay in New Zealand too. Kiwi Wealth pride themselves on their distinctly Kiwi identity; Kiwi Invest, their in house investment management team, manages the underlying investments in their members accounts, with your money being invested into important NZ projects (and is also invested overseas, helping to diversify your investment), and their NZ based specialist customer service team is available by call or email to answer any questions you may have about your investment. Kiwi Wealth’s KiwiSaver scheme helps you save for arguably two of the most important things in your life- a first home and a comfortable retirement- by contributing a portion of your income regularly into a KiwiSaver account, which then has its funds supplemented by your employer and the government. It is important to make sure you are using the right KiwiSaver fund so that you can maximise your earnings; glimp’s KiwiSaver comparison makes this easy so that you can start saving for the things that matter sooner!

Kiwi Wealth scheme and funds

Why choose a Kiwi Wealth KiwiSaver scheme?

There are a variety of reasons to choose a Kiwi Wealth KiwiSaver scheme. Kiwi Wealth KiwiSaver funds are completely transparent, with regular monthly reporting available to their customers. Kiwi Wealth’s KiwiSaver performance is strong: their Cash fund reporting a 2.09% return over a five year period (after taxes and fees), their CashPlus fund a 2.49% return, their Default fund a 4.16% return, their Conservative fund a 3.96% return, their Balanced fund a 5.86% return, and their Growth fund a 7.55% return.

Kiwi Wealth KiwiSaver fees

Kiwi Wealth’s fees center on an annual management fee: there are no membership fees. The total estimated annual fund charge (which includes the annual management fee and other fees charged by underlying funds that the fund invests in) for the Cash investment fund is 0.45% of your account balance. 0.52% of your account balance is charged for the Default investment fund; 0.86% for the Conservative investment fund; 1.04% for the Balanced investment fund; and 1.15% for the Growth fund. It can be handy to compare these KiwiSaver fees with other companies here on glimp.

Types of Kiwi Wealth KiwiSaver Funds NZ - Fees, Returns, Scheme

Cash

Kiwi Wealth’s KiwiSaver cash fund works well as a low risk defensive fund; 100% of the fund is invested in cash assets, and it is suggested for someone with a short investment timeframe of less than twelve months. The objective of the Kiwi Wealth cash fund is to exceed the returns you would receive from investing 100% of your funds in New Zealand cash through the active selection of cash assets.

CashPlus

Kiwi Wealth’s KiwiSaver CashPlus fund is, like its Cash fund, a low risk investment. However, it invests up to 60% of the fund in fixed interest assets (with the remainder being invested in cash assets). Its objective is to exceed the returns that you would normally receive from investing 75% of your funds in NZ cash and 25% in NZ fixed interest assets through active asset allocation and active selection of cash and fixed interest assets managed by Kiwi Wealths expert team of financial advisors. An important note however is that Kiwi Wealth’s CashPlus fund is closed to new fund members from the 1st of April 2019.

Default

The Kiwi Wealth Default KiwiSaver investment fund is, as their default fund, intended for short-term investments until you personally choose a fund that suits you. It holds 15% to 25% in shares and other growth assets at all times, with the remainder invested in a combination of cash and fixed interest rates. Because the Default fund is intended for short term use only, its objective is to deliver a benchmark return similar to being invested in a fund of 50% in NZ cash, 30% in NZ fixed interest assets and 20% in shares and other growth assets.

Conservative

The Conservative investment fund is a suitable fund for you if you plan to withdraw your KiwiSaver money in the next two to six years and if you are willing to take some up and down movement in value; although these funds are not as risky as balanced or growth funds, they will typically see a higher average long-term return than defensive funds. The Kiwi Wealth Conservative fund is invested up to 35% in shares and other growth assets with the remainder being invested in cash and fixed interest assets.

Balanced

Kiwi Wealth’s balanced fund has more risk than its Conservative fund; up to 70% of this fund is invested in shares and other growth assets, with 30% invested in cash and fixed interest assets. Its objective is to exceed the returns that you would typically receive from investing 45% of your funds in NZ fixed interest assets and cash and 55% in global shares, through active asset allocation and active selection of shares and other growth assets. Because balanced funds see a fair amount of up and down movement, this fund is suggested for someone with a medium investment timeframe (five to ten years).

Growth

Kiwi Wealth’s KiwiSaver Growth fund can be considered to be an aggressive fund type, as up to 90% of the fund is invested in shares and other growth assets with only 10% being invested in cash and other fixed interest assets. A Kiwi Wealth Growth fund will see your KiwiSaver’s balance dip quite severely; however, this fund leads to strong long-term growth. 80% of your funds are invested in global shares and 20% in NZ fixed interest assets and cash assets; because this means that there is a high degree of volatility, the time frame for this fund type is 10+ years.