Nikko Asset Management has retooled its KiwiSaver product as a multi-choice platform in a move that pits the scheme against the likes of InvestNow, Consilium and Sharesies.
Launched this morning, the Nikko scheme – now rebranded as GoalsGetter KiwiSaver – adds nine diversified funds from five external managers to the existing suite of house products.
Along with nine Nikko funds the GoalsGetter scheme includes offerings from Generate, Harbour, Milford, Pathfinder and Salt aimed at both direct and advised clients – the first time the manager has distributed non-aligned products.
The updated KiwiSaver statement of investment policy and objectives (SIPO) says: “Our approach is to offer members a variety of managers and funds, that allow them to construct a portfolio to suit them, either self selected or under advice.”
Nikko will debut GoalsGetter at the Wealthpoint advisory network in Blenheim tomorrow.
Stuart Williams, Nikko NZ managing director, said the KiwiSaver reboot came after consultation with financial advice providers identified demand for a multi-manager platform with “choice, but not too much choice”.
Williams said the GoalsGetter scheme is “a curated offering” filtered through the Nikko institutional investment knowledge as well as third-party oversight.
“It was a big process to decide which funds would be a good fit,” he said.
Both Nikko NZ and the parent firm’s Singapore-based third-party manager research resource, Portfolio Solutions Group, reviewed potential external funds. Consultancy firm, MyFiduciary, also completed an in-depth due diligence of candidate managers.
GoalsGetter technology allows advisers to easily on-board clients, produce a statement of advice and manage advice fee payments (capped at 0.3 per cent), Williams said.
“Our inbuilt expert robo-advice functionality can further refine the selection and guide members to the most suitable funds based on their personal objectives and risk preferences,” he said in a release.
While several KiwiSaver schemes including AMP and the now-defunct Aon have long offered investment options from a range of managers, the multi-choice trend took off with the arrival of InvestNow and Consilium about three years ago and, more recently, Sharesies.
Nikko originally launched GoalsGetter as a robo-advisory direct-to-consumer service in 2019, linking the system to its in-house funds and KiwiSaver scheme (which went live the previous year).
But bar a burst of members when Nikko opened up the Ark Disruptive Innovation Fund as a stand-alone option late in 2020, the KiwiSaver scheme has seen slow growth – clocking in just under $60 million at the end of March: the Ark fund represents about half of scheme assets. The global Nikko group owns 15 per cent of Ark.
Williams said a number of advisory firms have expressed interest in using the new multi-manager KiwiSaver.
“This is Nikko investing in solutions that the market tells us they want,” he said.
Nikko could add other managers to the GoalsGetter KiwiSaver over time, Williams said, but with no plans to build out a comprehensive supermarket of products.
If there was demand, he said, GoalsGetter could also be expanded beyond KiwiSaver into the retail funds market.
GoalsGetter uses BNP Paribas for custody and some administration, Apex as registrar and Public Trust for supervision.