Generate leapt above the BNZ scheme in the KiwiSaver size rankings during the December quarter in a stand-out growth spurt that added almost $600 million to the boutique scheme assets.
According to the latest Plan for Life (PFL) data, Generate recorded a growth-rate of 9.2 per cent over the final three months of 2024 to move from about $55 million behind the BNZ scheme to more than $325 million ahead: Generate ended the year with about $6.6 billion under management compared to $6.3 billion for the BNZ KiwiSaver (now part of the FirstCape collective).
While other KiwiSaver league placings were unchanged quarter-on-quarter, long-standing trends continued apace as large institutional incumbents lost ground to local independents.
In particular, ANZ reported a quarterly growth rate of just 0.7 per cent or more than half the next-worst figure of 1.9 per cent turned in by Westpac/BT and well below the sector average for the three-month period of 3.7 per cent.
Almost all of the 11 other named providers in the PFL table grew more in nominal dollar terms over the quarter than ANZ, which accrued $144 million in the period.
PFL doesn’t separate investment gains from net flows on a provider basis but other reports from researchers Morningstar and Melville Jessup Weaver show ANZ fund performance slumped over the last couple of years.
Aside from Generate, two other local heroes – Milford and Simplicity – stayed on-speed with quarterly growth-rates of 7.6 per cent. Milford added more than $700 million over the three months to December 31 to become on the fifth KiwiSaver provider to manage $10 billion or more.
The NZX-owned SuperLife scheme (4.8 per cent), Booster (4.3 per cent) and AMP (3.8 per cent): Westpac, Mercer, BNZ, Fisher Funds and ASB lagged the industry average with growth-rates ranging between 1.9 per cent and 3.3 per cent.
PFL data also shows the 20 or so ‘other’ KiwiSaver schemes collectively expanded by almost 7 per cent in the December quarter to share close to $7.5 billion as at year-end.
The Australian research house measured total KiwiSaver funds under management by December 31 at more than $124 billion as net flows of $1.3 billion and investment returns of $3.1 billion topped up the pool.