Nikko Asset Management is set to open NZ’s newest KiwiSaver scheme within days after lodging the official paperwork last week.
George Carter, Nikko NZ chief, said the scheme would start accepting members once the documentation was finalised.
Carter said there was a five-day window between lodgment and launch to fine-tune the disclosure documents.
However, the Nikko KiwiSaver product disclosure statement (PDS) released last week reveals the scheme will offer eight underlying funds including three risk-weighted and five single asset class options.
The five single asset class funds cover: NZ cash; NZ corporate bonds; Australasian equities; global equities; and, the Options fund.
Last month Wellington-based firm Booster dropped the Nikko Options fund from its KiwiSaver and superannuation funds prompting over 14,000 members and more than $100 million to switch investments by mid-May this year.
The Nikko KiwiSaver annual management charges range from 0.45 per cent for the cash fund to 1.15 per cent for the global shares and Options products – plus yearly $30 member fee.
“But we are going to waive the management fees for the first year [until March 31, 2019],” Carter said.
The addition of Nikko brings the KiwiSaver scheme count to 31 including the in-limbo NZX-owned Smartshares offering that has about a dozen members stranded under UK pension transfer complications.
Nikko also plans to complement the KiwiSaver scheme with a robo-advice system due to go live later this year, pending approval from the FMA.
“We hope to submit our [robo exemption] application by the end of this month,” Carter said. “We think investors will find it easy to use, intuitive and helpful.”
According to a Financial Markets Authority spokesperson, as at last week the regulator had received just one application under the digital advice exemption process opened up in February. Exemption applications incur a fee of $1,265 plus GST.
The exemption was fast-tracked to allow robo-advice providers to side-step the current law preventing non-humans from offering personalised financial advice. However, digital advice will be permitted under the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Bill (FSLAB) currently wending its way through Parliament.
To date, the Select Committee considering the bill has published 73 FSLAB submissions. It is understood the Committee is weighing up a number of amendments including: dropping the requirement for Financial Advice Providers (the licensed entity under FSLAB) to publish annual accounts; and, inserting new cyber-security standards.