NZ Funds welcomes regulations to the party

-

NZ Funds Media Release
7 June 2019

Auckland, New Zealand – “We are thrilled that from next year all KiwiSaver providers will be required to join NZ Funds in projecting member balances at retirement” says Geoff Motion. NZ Funds first included retirement savings projections in 2018.

“When we entered the KiwiSaver market in 2011, we drew on our then twenty-year heritage of managing New Zealanders wealth to shape the service we offered. We initially called it a service, because we have learned the hard way that sharp products rarely deliver clients what they hope” says Motion.

Motion points to the fact that NZ Funds KiwiSaver Scheme member balances are now 1.5x the national average.* “To the best of our ability, as it’s a difficult thing to attribute properly, we do not think this is because our clients are wealthier. Neither is it due to returns, while clients have earned above average returns after fees by our assessment, that has made very little difference.”

The biggest factor says Motion is that as 96% of NZ Funds KiwiSaver Scheme members are working with a financial adviser, they have been encouraged to save at higher than minimal rates and feel connected to their KiwiSaver.

The concept of projecting retirement savings several years ago is a dumbed down version of what every client who joins the NZ Funds KiwiSaver Scheme receives in financial planning technology. “Interestingly, when we first provided statements with retirement savings projections to members it was well received, as it reminded them why they should continue contributing, and in fact consider raising their contribution rates, so we think the new regulations will be good for everyone in the industry.”

NZ Funds has, what it believes is market-leading technology here, enabling its members to increase their contribution rates in a paperless, purely digital, way.

* NZ Funds KiwiSaver Scheme average member balance $29,791 | KiwiSaver industry average member balance $19,246.
  Source: Workplace Savings New Zealand 31 March 2019.

***


***

Popular posts from this blog

COP26 - what does it mean for your finances?

-
Image
I wonder where we would be without acronyms; probably using more ink but perhaps better informed. The acronym of the moment has been, of course, COP26 – the trendy acronym for the United Nations (UN) climate change conference, recently held in Glasgow. It was the 26th annual UN 'Conference of Parties' which began in Berlin in 1995. In simple terms. the purpose of the series of conferences has been to collectively agree on the actions required to limit the impact of climate change. Cynics have suggested that the empty promises resulting from past conferences have exacerbated, rather than reduced, the 'hot air' problem. However, in the wake of the global and existential threat that is COVID-19, the global community is awakening to the reality that a collective response is the only way to deal with a truly global threat. Retreating to 'your corner' when you live on a sphere doesn't really work! The Glasgow conference set a number of objectives, but it i...
Read more

Investment Insight | Monthly Review | November 2021

-
Image
Investment performance update During the financial market rebound, NZ Funds acquired several positions which we expected to benefit from the world returning to normal. As the market rebounded these paid off and generated above index returns for the year ended 31 December 2020. Gains continued into 2021 with one of the strongest starts to the year NZ Funds has seen. However, from 1 April onwards positions became more volatile. This volatility led to most Portfolios giving up their gains from earlier in the year. While we have retained the capital gain over the index for 2020, to align the Portfolios more closely to their benchmark for the remainder of 2021, and for 2022, we have substantially reduced risk, acknowledging the current uncertainty around interest rates and Omicron. We remain strongly of the view that a well-diversified portfolio, which contains assets which profit from rising inflation and interest rates, will be more resilient throu...
Read more

Investment Insight | Backing BIRD to fly

-
Image
"At NZ Funds, we’re constantly looking for innovative companies to invest in, particularly at the IPO (Initial Public Offering) stage. Investing at the 'ground floor' level gives our clients the greatest chance of benefiting from long-term growth in company share prices. It’s rare to be presented with the opportunity to back a new NASDAQ listing that also has strong New Zealand connections. This is one of the reasons we were delighted to make a successful bid for shares in Allbirds (NASDAQ: BIRD), which has grown from a Kickstarter campaign by its Kiwi cofounder to a global footwear and apparel company with a US$3.1 billion market capitalisation..." Read the full story about NZ Funds' IPO investment in Allbirds below.
Read more