The country’s biggest KiwiSaver provider, the $11 billion plus ANZ, has given members some pre-Christmas fee relief after knocking 2-3 basis points (bps) off the sticker price across all underlying funds.
Following the cuts, ANZ KiwiSaver scheme fees range from 0.42 per cent for the cash option to 1.11 per cent for the growth fund (and 0.43 per cent to 1.12 per cent across a similar range of products in the Default KiwiSaver scheme): both schemes shed 2 bps worth of fees in the discounting.
Meanwhile, ANZ’s adviser-distributed OneAnswer KiwiSaver and the bank’s retail investment funds have seen fee reductions of 3 bps across the range. OneAnswer fees now span the 0.57 per cent cash fund up to 1.47 per cent for the Sustainable International Share Fund. Post discount, the ANZ Investment set of five risk-weighted retail funds cost between 1.21 per cent for the conservative portfolio to 1.41 per cent for the growth option.
Ana-Marie Lockyer, ANZ head of wealth products, said further fee reductions were likely as funds under management (FUM) continue to grow.
“We will continue to pass on benefits of scale savings to members,” Lockyer said. “Since 2009 we have cut our KiwiSaver scheme fees by 20 per cent.”
ANZ reported FUM of almost $11.05 billion as at the end of September, according to Morningstar figures, more than $3.1 billion clear of nearest rival ASB and double that of Westpac, the third-largest provider.
All told ANZ manages $25 billion in its funds management division, the largest in NZ bar Crown Financial Institutions.
In the latest disclosure documents ANZ also formally published its responsible investment policy, which follows a recent portfolio-cleansing mission.
“We integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into our investment management process,” the new ANZ policy says. “We do this because we believe that these factors are some of the drivers of long-term investment risks and returns.”
Companies with potential ESG issues would be subject to further review, the ANZ policy says, covering factors such as: global best practice; scope of any breach; the impact of any exclusion on returns (and whether “alternative strategies” such as engagement would be more successful); and, “our view on the expectations of our investors or clients”.
“Depending on the results of our review we might continue to hold, review on a periodic basis, divest, or exclude the company or industry as an investment,” the policy says. “If we buy units in a fund that isn’t managed by us, our investment might be exposed to companies we would ordinarily exclude. This possibility is factored into our decision to buy any such units.”