Cash PIE Star Ratings Report

For the third year running, CANSTAR has assessed the price and features of available Cash PIEs, this year assessing 11 Cash PIE funds to determine which ones offer outstanding value for money. For the purposes of this rating we have assumed that a typical investor frequently deposits and withdraws from their account, expecting flexibility and easy access to funds as well as a competitive rate.

For the purposes of this star rating, our fund selection extends to all Cash PIEs with a fund objective to reproduce a pretax return similar to that of an on-call savings account. Therefore, the funds need to possess characteristics of an on-call account such as:

• A fixed rate of return
• Investment in on call deposit
• Funds must be ‘at call’

Each Cash PIE account reviewed for the CANSTAR Cash PIE star ratings is awarded points for its comparative pricing and for the array of positive features attached to the product. Points are aggregated to achieve a pricing score and a feature score.

Pricing is rated on the advertised rate of return, when distributions are paid and how the fund remits the tax to the IRD.

We have also taken into account over 40 features in each fund to determine which fund provides the most flexibility to consumers. Features taken into account include minimum opening deposit, onging balance and withdrawal amount, reporting options, internet and phone access, the period to process deposits and withdraw funds and the credit rating of the institution. Details of the pricing and features that CANSTAR assess are contained in the methodology attached to this report.