Looking for a top KiwiSaver scheme but not sure where to start?
Generate’s award-winning results, straight talk and local team of friendly KiwiSaver advisers make choosing easy.
The finance world has long been a confusing place for many of us. At Generate, we saw the KiwiSaver industry specifically as one full of jargon, where it was hard to understand the different options Kiwis had, let alone choose the best investment fund.
That’s why our goal has been to make it easy for all Kiwis to understand their KiwiSaver options, so they can make smart decisions about how their money is invested.
In that vein, we wanted to share some useful information to help you choose a KiwiSaver provider. If you’re not already with Generate, then we hope you’ll consider us the best of the bunch. If you are a Generate KiwiSaver scheme member, then this could still be helpful. As we know all too well, circumstances change, so it pays to double-check your investments every now and then.
Choose the best KiwiSaver fund for your risk profile
KiwiSaver funds tend to be grouped into three types: defensive; conservative or balanced; and growth or aggressive funds.
These funds differ depending upon where they invest your money and their level of risk. Defensive funds invest most of your money in cash and bonds. That makes them lower risk, stable investments, but the potential returns may also be lower. At the other end of the scale, growth/aggressive funds invest mainly in shares and property; they can deliver higher returns over the long term, but are higher risk and susceptible to more volatility. As the Sorted website reminds us, ‘aggressive’ is not about your personality! Meanwhile, conservative/balanced is the middle road when it comes to risk and reward.
So the first thing to do is decide what level of risk you’re prepared to accept in your investment portfolio. Our KiwiSaver Risk Survey may help you identify your appetite for risk. Or you can ask yourself two questions: How long until you expect to use the money, and what’s the range of your risk, i.e., what percentage would you be prepared to gain or lose in any given year? Take a look at our different KiwiSaver funds to see which best fits your risk profile.
Choose a Kiwisaver fund with performance among the best
Look for a KiwiSaver scheme with consistent results over a longer period of time. Since we started in 2012, our KiwiSaver funds have proved to be highly successful performers. Morningstar’s Quarterly KiwiSaver survey has ranked our Focused Growth Fund in the top three providers of aggressive funds, every quarter for the last five years.¹
And SuperRatings, the Australian superannuation industry research company, has awarded Generate its Gold performance rating for the last six years.²
It’s no wonder we’re one of the fastest-growing KiwiSaver schemes in New Zealand.³
You can also check fund performance at Sorted’s Smart Investor website. Five-year returns show how much the fund has grown in value on average each year over the past five years (after fees and taxes).
Look for the responsible choice
Is your KiwiSaver provider aligned with your values? An increasingly important measure of success for many KiwiSaver investors is ESG: a KiwiSaver fund’s achievement against environmental, social and governance targets. You can compare what percentage of different KiwiSaver funds are invested in ‘issues of concern’ (fossil fuels, gambling, palm oil, etc.) on Mindful Money.
Generate has some of the lowest issues of concern when comparing like-for-like funds, i.e., comparing growth funds with other growth funds. The Generate Growth Fund has less than 2% of investments in potential issues of concern, while for our Conservative Fund that figure is zero.
Choose a KiwiSaver provider sure to deliver the best service
Finally, you should consider what sort of service you want. Are you prepared for an offshore bank with a chatbot, or do you want to talk to real people in the same time zone – and potentially in the same town/city – as you?
Our nationwide team of KiwiSaver advisers are available to meet with you in person (lockdowns allowing), to talk through your KiwiSaver options. We also have a local customer service team available to help with any queries our members might have – and our members love us for it… We were voted as having the best KiwiSaver customer service and were awarded the Readers Digest Gold Quality Service Award for Superannuation 2022.
We also survey all our new members, and 99% have rated our advice as 4 or 5 out of 5.5 Unsurprisingly⁴, we’ve found people like it when you let them know their options and what different decisions could mean for them!
The choice is yours
There’s a lot to consider when looking for the best KiwiSaver provider, but we hope you consider us a worthy choice. We make responsible investments, we’re Kiwi owned and are award-winners.
If you’d like to talk to one of our local KiwiSaver advisers for some free, no-obligation advice, get in touch with us on 0800 855 322 or send us a message.
Disclaimers:
No part of this blog is intended as financial advice; it is intended as general information only. To see our Financial Advice Disclosure Statement, please see Generate FAP Disclosure Statement. For more information about the Generate KiwiSaver Scheme please refer to the Generate KiwiSaver Scheme Product Disclosure Statement. For more information about the Generate Focused Growth Trust please refer to the Generate Unit Trust Scheme Product Disclosure Statement or the fund updates. The issuer of both schemes is Generate Investment Management Limited and the Product Disclosure Statements are available at generatewealth.co.nz/pds. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
- ©2021 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither Morningstar, nor its affiliates, nor the content providers guarantee the data or content contained herein to be accurate, complete or timely nor will they have any liability for its use or distribution. Any general advice or ‘class service’ has been prepared by Morningstar Australasia Pty Ltd (ABN: 95 090 665 544, AFSL: 240892) and/or Morningstar Research Ltd, subsidiaries of Morningstar, Inc., without reference to your objectives, financial situation or needs. Refer to our Financial Services Guide (FSG) for more information at www.morningstar.com.au/s/fsg.pdf
- The ratings issued by SuperRatings Pty Ltd ABN 95 100 192 283 AFSL 311880 (SuperRatings) for Generate KiwiSaver Scheme (‘Gold’ rating), are as of 23 November 2021. Head to https://www.generatewealth.co.nz/pds/ to view SuperRatings full disclaimer.
- According to Investment News on 9 September 2021, report available here.
- Generate Growth Fund percentage of investment in potential issues of concern in comparison to the Growth Funds of the four major Australian banks in New Zealand as at 28 November 2021. Generate New Member Survey for FY21 responses from 1,857 new members (86% rate 5 and 13% rate 4)