New Reserve Bank of NZ (RBNZ) figures show total NZ managed funds under management soared over 9 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 to within cooee of $300 billion.
The RBNZ data – which spans retail (including some private wealth portfolios) and wholesale funds – shows the local funds sector hit a new record of high of almost $296 billion at the end of March.
“Annually, total funds under management went up 12.6%. This is the fifth consecutive quarter with positive annual growth,” the central bank report says.
KiwiSaver now accounts for almost 40 per cent of the total RBNZ fund universe (which excludes the NZ Superannuation and Accident Compensation Corporation funds) after putting on 7.2 per cent in the March quarter to tip above $115 billion.
For the 12 months to the end of March, KiwiSaver funds under management increased 18.6 per cent while even the becalmed traditional superannuation sector felt the tailwinds in the latest quarter.
“Other Superannuation increased 5.4% this quarter, ending 5 consecutive quarters of quarterly decline,” the RBNZ survey says. “This is the first quarter since March 2022 where we have had a year-on- year increase.”
In line with the hot equity markets (offshore, at least) of late, NZ investor exposure to shares surged 12.7 per cent in the quarter – and 17.7 per cent over the 12-month period – to almost $140 billion.
Data for the KiwiSaver sector highlights the opposing fates of the NZX and global share markets this year: local equity holdings declined more than $5 billion across schemes to total just under $22 billion at the end of March as offshore shares jumped up $8 billion to reach $49.5 billion in the same period.
But long-term bond allocations also rose 6.1 and 10.2 per cent for the quarter and year, respectively, to end at $77.2 billion while short-term debt holdings remained flat over the three months at $15.1 billion (down 8.1 per cent year-on-year).
“Units in trusts decreased by 18.5% for the quarter, from $44.3b to $36.1b. That is an annual decrease of 5.8%,” the report says.
But despite the risk appetite revival, cash holdings also climbed in the March quarter to $45.2 billion, representing an increase of 2.1 per cent year-to-date and 17.6 per cent compared to the same time in 2023.