Challenger KiwiSaver brands emerged ahead of the pack in a June quarter bounce-back that boosted almost all schemes by double-digit percentages, the latest Plan for Life (PFL) quarterly report reveals.
After slumping close to 7 per cent on average in the first three months of 2020, the PFL survey shows the KiwiSaver market grew an astounding 11.4 per cent in the following quarter, bringing total funds under management (FUM) well above the December 31, 2019 figure.
About $5.2 billion of the overall June quarter KiwiSaver gain of $7 billion flowed from investment returns with net flows comprising the remainder ($1.9 billion).
But while all boats floated higher on the returning tide, the three locally owned top KiwiSaver contenders of recent times – Simplicity, Milford Asset Management and Generate – pushed above the fleet with respective quarterly growth-rates of 20.5 per cent, 16.1 per cent and 15.8 per cent.
Not far behind, another NZ-flagged competitor, the Wellington-berthed Booster, was up 14.4 per cent, bringing its FUM above the $2 billion waterline once more.
The three largest KiwiSaver providers – ANZ, ASB and Westpac/BT – fell slightly behind the market average but still managed respectable growth-rates in the 10.6-10.9 per cent range.
As the supertankers of the KiwiSaver world, the bank-owned schemes took on more cargo in nominal terms than rival merchants: ANZ, for instance, grew more than $1.5 billion in the June quarter to finish with $15.5 billion plus; ASB was up $1.1 billion to almost $12 billion; while, Westpac stacked on more than $700 million, closing the period at $7.5 billion.
Fisher Funds, Kiwi Wealth and BNZ all reported 10 per cent plus growth – 12.1 per cent, 11.1 per cent and 10.8 per cent, respectively – while AMP and Mercer, in line with historical trends, lagged at about 9 per cent.
Milford inched above Mercer in the June quarter to claim the kudos of eighth-largest KiwiSaver provider. Over the same period, Fisher clawed back another $100 million plus on fourth-placed AMP to sit just $230 million behind the embattled Australian-owned KiwiSaver provider.
The also-rans also ran a pretty good race in the three months ending June 30, growing a collective 12.9 per cent with the 20-odd providers in the ‘others’ category sharing $4.2 billion at the end of the period.
Total KiwiSaver FUM peaked at just under $69 billion on June 30, up from $61.7 billion three months previously, according to the PFL data.
Based in Melbourne, PFL – now owned by global proxy voting firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) – is headed by Rael Solomon.