Sharesies has released pricing for its soon-to-be-live KiwiSaver scheme with manager fees coming in at a slight premium to the comparable underlying funds.
As reported last December, the popular online share-trading platform named Pathfinder, Pie Funds and the NZX-owned Smartshares as launch managers for a suite of diversified funds.
In the Sharesies format, the Smartshares conservative, balanced and growth funds cost 0.47, 0.50 and 0.51 per cent, respectively – or a few basis points higher than the 0.43, 0.46 and 0.49 per cent levied inside the Smartshares KiwiSaver scheme.
Similarly, the Pie Funds Growth 2 strategy will cost members 1.47 per cent in the Sharesies KiwiSaver compared to the 1.45 per cent off-the-shelf price.
Pathfinder charges 1.33 per cent for its Ethical Growth Fund direct with the Sharesies scheme version costing 1.47 per cent, according to the KiwiSaver product disclosure statement (PDS), released in January.
“We do not charge any other fees to you, however, Sharesies Investments is remunerated by the underlying fund managers,” the PDS says.
While the first tranche of Sharesies KiwiSaver documents paint the picture of a standard, reasonably priced product, it is understood the scheme will ultimately include some direct share options – with some risk controls built in to ensure a measure of diversification.
Leighton Roberts, Sharesies co-founder, said in a release last December: “We’re starting with the basics, like we did with share trading by offering a choice of funds. And in time we’ll be adding more fund options.”
The Wellington-based firm has yet to formally open the KiwiSaver scheme with a data collection effort underway through an online expressions-of-interest ahead of a launch in the first half of this year.
Trustees Executors has been appointed custodian and supervisor for the new scheme with administration shared between MMC and in-house systems.
More than 500,000 people across Australia and NZ have set up a Sharesies account.