Auckland-based boutique scheme, Generate, outpaced KiwiSaver rivals again in the September quarter, growing by more than 20 per cent over a generally upbeat period for all providers.
Generate added $92 million to the kitty during the three months to September 30, the latest Strategic Insight (SI) survey shows, to finish with $550 million in funds under management (FUM).
As well as recording the highest proportional increase (of 20.3 per cent), Generate also grew more in nominal terms than the three providers ranked immediately above it by size. The KiwiSaver data from Melbourne-headquartered SI shows the NZX-owned SuperLife, Milford Asset Management, and Booster were up by $35 million, $83 million, and $80 million, respectively, over the quarter.
BNZ was the only other scheme in the double-digit club over the September quarter, reporting a 12.3 per cent increase in FUM to surpass $1.4 billion. Now the eighth-largest KiwiSaver scheme, BNZ is about $300 million shy of nearest rival, Mercer, which at 4.3 per cent was the slowest-growing provider in the SI quarterly rankings.
AMP was also one of the relative laggards during the three-month period with the scheme’s growth-rate of 4.5 per cent seeing it slip further behind the third-largest provider, Westpac. After replacing AMP in the number three spot last September the Westpac KiwiSaver scheme is now more than $330 million ahead with almost $5.2 billion under management, the SI figures show.
Meanwhile, the triplet of Australian bank-owned schemes atop the KiwiSaver leader-board all reported growth close to the par score of 6.5 per cent. Perennial number one provider, ANZ, banked more than $650 million across its three KiwiSaver schemes over the quarter, equating to a FUM jump of 6.3 per cent. The money flood during the quarter that includes the annual influx of government-supplied ‘member tax credits’ (MTC) saw ANZ KiwiSaver FUM rise above the $11 billion mark.
Kiwi Wealth, also experienced a bumper quarter with a 7.3 per cent FUM boost pushing the NZ government-owned scheme above $3.4 billion, about $440 million behind fellow local bank-associate, Fisher Funds (part of the TSB empire).
In total, KiwiSaver FUM grew by about $2.7 billion over the three-month period to breach the $45 billion level for the first time. According to the SI data, investment earnings comprised $890 million while net funds flow (employer, member and government contributions less member withdrawals) accounted for $1.87 billion during the September quarter.
The latest Inland Revenue Department (IRD) statistics show KiwiSaver providers paid out more than $163 million in ‘first home’ releases over the three months to September 30. All up the IRD figures (which capture most of the inward flows) record just over $2 billion gushing into the savings system during the quarter. Excluding July, when the MTC spigot pumped $1.1 billion into KiwiSaver, gross monthly inflows averaged about $435 million over 2017.
As at the end of September, KiwiSaver membership reached just over 2.79 million, of whom about 44,500 swapped schemes during the quarter.