Sharesies has confirmed plans to launch a KiwiSaver scheme early next year after earning a long-anticipated managed investment scheme (MIS) licence this week.
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) approved the Sharesies MIS licence following a drawn-out application process for the first-time investment manager.
It is expected that the popular share-trading platform will offer a range of diversified KiwiSaver funds with some other flexible options rather than open-slather choice.
Sharesies has selected Trustees Executors as supervisor and custodian of the new KiwiSaver scheme with most other administration managed in-house. Trustees Executors also recently signed up to the the SS&C Aloha system, which is also being used by Craigs Investment Partners.
With a member base of some 500,000 or so, Sharesies has a captive audience for KiwiSaver marketing and may find early converts.
The move follows the launch of other local platform-based players such as InvestNow and Kernel into the KiwiSaver market over the last 18 months.
Sharesies will also add to an increasingly crowded space of NZ-owned boutique KiwiSaver schemes including Milford, Pathfinder, Simplicity, Juno, Koura, Generate and Aurora.
In a release this morning, Sharesies co-founder, Leighton Roberts, said: “It’s always been our intention to broaden our offering to include a range of money opportunities so everyone can grow their long-term wealth, whether they have $5 or $5 million.
Roberts said including KiwiSaver with other investments on the same platform will make “it easier for members to monitor and engage with progress towards their financial goals”.
Launched in 2017 as a direct-to-investor fund and NZ shares platform, Sharesies now counts over 500,000 members across Australia and NZ, focusing mainly on equities trading across the local, Australian and US markets.