Over half of the 200 or so KiwiSaver funds remained under water as at the end of March despite a strong bounce in markets during the first quarter of 2019, according to research from financial product comparison website, Pocketwise. Binu Paul, Pocketwise co-founder, said the late 2018 global equity market slump pushed about 80 per… [Read More…]
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Bumper March quarter pushes KiwiSaver close to $60bn
KiwiSaver funds under management (FUM) verged on $60 billion as at the end of March this year, new figures from the Financial Services Council (FSC) have revealed. The FSC KiwiSaver numbers – based on a survey by its twin organisation, Workplace Savings NZ (WSNZ) – found total market FUM hit more than $58.5 billion as… [Read More…]
Why KiwiSaver could beat property for next-gen investors
KiwiSaver will be the cornerstone asset for many New Zealanders as the first rung on the property ladder inches ever higher, according to Joe Bishop, Kiwi Wealth head of retail. Bishop said a new Kiwi Wealth investment survey due out tomorrow found many New Zealanders – particularly younger cohorts – were increasingly shut out of… [Read More…]
Government moots extending bank/insurer conduct rules to KiwiSaver, DIMS et al
The government could subject a wide range of financial institutions including KiwiSaver providers to proposed conduct regulations that emerged last week in response to recent bank and life insurer investigations. An options paper released by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) late in the week lays out a series of measures designed to… [Read More…]
KiwiSaver, PIE tax changes still on agenda following CGT surrender
Changes to KiwiSaver and portfolio investment entity (PIE) rules remain on the table despite the government’s rejection of a broad capital gains tax (CGT) today. In its detailed response to the 90-odd Tax Working Group (TWG) proposals released this afternoon, the government has slated the KiwiSaver and PIE reforms for further consideration. “This [KiwiSaver] work… [Read More…]
How TWG oversight could squeeze the middle KiwiSaver
Over 500,000 middle-bracket New Zealanders could be short-changed if the government adopts some of the KiwiSaver recommendations included in the Tax Working Group (TWG) final report. The TWG report recommends lowering the KiwiSaver prescribed investor rate (PIR) for the bottom two tax rates – 10.5 and 17.5 per cent – by 5 per cent to… [Read More…]
Free UK pension transfers, RFA-friendly KiwiSaver and TD offers energise NZ Funds
NZ Funds Management has embarked on an ambitious growth drive targeting the UK pension transfer, adviser-distributed KiwiSaver, term deposit and trust markets with re-engineered and re-priced products. Michael Lang, who jumped from NZ Funds CIO to CEO last year, said the Auckland-based firm had hit the ground running in 2019 with a “zero transfer fee”… [Read More…]
December was a downer but dynamic duo defeat KiwiSaver depression
Just two of the 13 largest KiwiSaver providers eked out positive net growth over the tough December quarter, likely buoyed by new member transfers rather than investment returns. According to the latest data from Australian research house Strategic Insight (SI), only the BNZ and Generate schemes saw funds under management (FUM) grow during the three… [Read More…]
Cullen report calls for NZ Super tax cut, PIE/KiwiSaver split, flexible FDR
New Zealand’s sometime single-largest taxpayer would become exempt under proposals handed down by the Sir Michael Cullen-led Tax Working Group (TWG) last week. The TWG recommends removing the tax requirement for NZ Superannuation Fund (NZS) – also known colloquially as the ‘Cullen Fund’ – that has seen the now the $40 billion government-owned entity pay… [Read More…]
New KiwiSaver robo-adviser activated
Robot number four has been approved to offer digital financial advice in NZ. The Auckland-based National Capital, owned by authorised financial adviser (AFA) Clive Fernandes earned the right to offer robo-advice services via an exemption issued at the end of January. National Capital joins Kiwi Wealth, Nikko Asset Management and Cigna Life as ‘digital advice providers’… [Read More…]
KiwiSaver, tax reforms loom as committee signs off
Employers won’t be compelled to make KiwiSaver contributions for over-65s under a proposed tax omnibus bill, the final select committee report on the legislation confirmed last week. The wide-sweeping Taxation (Annual Rates for 2018–19, Modernising Tax Administration, and Remedial Matters) Bill makes a number of minor changes to the KiwiSaver regime including allowing those aged… [Read More…]
FSC mulls alternative future for KiwiSaver, funds and advice
A new Financial Services Council (FSC) report has tipped KiwiSaver schemes were primed to invest more into alternative assets despite technical difficulties. “KiwiSaver fund managers have also reported that uniform valuation methods are not used for private equity investments leading to differing unit pricing valuation methodologies and liquidity requirements provided challenges to making significant investments… [Read More…]
BNZ bumps Mercer in KiwiSaver rankings
The National Australia Bank-owned BNZ has clambered above Mercer to assume the spot as the seventh-largest KiwiSaver provider in the latest Strategic Insight (SI) survey. KiwiSaver latecomer BNZ jumped ahead in the SI rankings during the September quarter after seeing funds under management grow by almost 10 per cent to more than $1.95 billion –… [Read More…]
KiwiSaver default settings, tax relief plans come under fire
The ideological war on KiwiSaver is heating up ahead of two major policy decisions scheduled for next year with calls to scuttle the current default system and delete the tax advantage for higher income earners. Binu Paul, co-founder of financial product comparison tool, Pocketwise, said the default scheme system has clearly failed with 400,000 members… [Read More…]
MyFiduciary lands Tongan fund chief; Constellation founder joins Craigs; Pie-owned KiwiSaver hires group head
The Tongan Retirement Fund (TRF) chief is set to join Auckland-based investment governance and consulting firm, MyFiduciary, as principal next year. Saia Uai Havili, who has served as CEO of the approximately NZ$100 million TRF for nine years, will move to NZ along with his family of six to take up the role in 2019,… [Read More…]
MJW study finds KiwiSaver manager tilts off-balance
Most KiwiSaver manager tactical tilts against strategic asset allocation (SAA) benchmarks have failed to pay off, a new Melville Jessup Weaver (MJW) analysis reveals. The MJW study of 10 KiwiSaver managers found tactical asset allocation (TAA) – or actual portfolio deviations from the fund SAAs – at best added 0.4 per cent over the three… [Read More…]
CGT, PIE, KiwiSaver changes mooted in tax report
The Tax Working Group has flagged a broad “capital income tax” to include shares and a raft of other assets in its interim report released today. While it has yet to finalise the capital gains tax recommendations, the interim report maps out a wide range of assets that could be caught in proposed reforms including… [Read More…]
KiwiSaver manager cellars another vintage investment
Booster has upped the alcohol content of its KiwiSaver scheme after adding another wine-maker to the private equity portfolio held via the Tahi fund. Last week, Booster finalised the purchase of the Hawke’s Bay-based Sileni Estates – founded by Sir Graeme Avery – in a deal that will see the wine brand share shelf space… [Read More…]
KiwiSaver transfers, first home and hardship withdrawals all spike in 2018 year
The number of members swapping KiwiSaver schemes jumped about 9 per cent over the 12 months to June 30 to hit an all-time high of almost 163,000, new Inland Revenue Department (IRD) data shows. According to the IRD annual statistics, the number of KiwiSaver member transfers over the 12-month period ending June 30 was up… [Read More…]
KiwiSaver in its prime: free Year 11 report now live
It was more-or-less more-of-the-same for KiwiSaver schemes during Year 11, according to the latest edition of the Investment News New Zealand (IN NZ) annual market study. The now free-to-download IN NZ report found the same 29 KiwiSaver schemes as in 2017 grew collectively at a similar rate while chalking up an almost exact replica of… [Read More…]