According to the most recent KiwiSaver report, there are just close to 3.1 million KiwiSaver members, who have $81.6bn invested with 28 KiwiSaver providers. Between those providers there are over 300 different funds, offering a wide range of investment options, growth strategies and different levels of risk.
Over the past year, the total funds under management in KiwiSaver has risen a whopping 31.7%, to $81.6bn, on the back of some remarkable market growth. However, as a KiwiSaver member you should be in it for the long-haul and carefully pick your fund and provider on a range of criteria, including:
- Your age
- Whether you intend to use KiwiSaver as a means for a first home deposit
- Your appetite for risk
- Your retirement lifestyle aspirations
- Fees and value for money
While Canstar has a free comparison tool that can help you make the right personal choice: just click on this button…
Compare KiwiSaver providers for free with Canstar!
… it is interesting to take a look at how KiwiSaver members have invested their money. To this end, we’ve put together a list of the top ten most popular KiwiSaver schemes, by total number of members. Plus, for a bit of fun, we’ve also listed the ten schemes that earned the biggest returns over the past year, to the end of 2021.
Top 10 KiwiSaver Funds By No. Members
1 ANZ KIWISAVER GROWTH FUND
No. Members: 263,362
Value: $4,502,894,932
Growth in Past Year: 14.76% net charges and tax
Invests mainly in growth assets (equities, listed property and listed infrastructure), with a smaller exposure to income assets (cash and cash equivalents and fixed interest).
2 WESTPAC KIWISAVER CONSERVATIVE FUND
No. Members: 177,130
Value: $3,026,818,246
Growth in Past Year: 1.42% net charges and tax
Aims to provide stable returns over the short to medium term. Fund invests primarily in income assets, but also has an allocation to growth assets. More volatile than Wespac’s Default Fund, but lower than the bank’s Moderate Fund.
3 ASB KIWISAVER GROWTH FUND
No. Members: 166,648
Value: $4,889,349,407
Growth in Past Year: 11.19% net charges and tax
Aims to provide high total returns, with a negative return expected less than one in very four years. Invests in income and growth assets, with a target investment mix of 20% income assets and 80% growth assets.
4 ASB KIWISAVER CONSERVATIVE FUND
No. Members: 159,039
Value: $3,495,315,588
Growth in Past Year: 0.53% net charges and tax
Aims to provide modest total returns, with a negative return expected less than one in every 25 years. Invests in income and growth assets with a target investment mix of 80% income assets and 20% growth assets.
5 WESTPAC KIWISAVER GROWTH FUND
No. Members: 118,993
Value: $2,523,034,572
Growth in Past Year: 8.62% net charges and tax
Aims to provide higher returns over the long term. The fund invests primarily in growth assets but also has an allocation to income assets. Volatility is expected to be the highest of Westpac’s KiwiSaver funds.
6 FISHER FUNDS KIWISAVER GROWTH FUND
No. Members: 118,959
Value: $3,220,867,781
Growth in Past Year: 12.31% net charges and tax
The fund aims to grow your savings with more focus on capital growth over the long term. Invested in mainly growth assets.
7 ANZ KIWISAVER BALANCED FUND
No. Members: 98,662
Value: $3,377,219,028
Growth in Past Year: 8.45% net charges and tax
Invests in similar amounts of income assets (cash and cash equivalents and fixed interest) and growth assets (equities, listed property and listed infrastructure). It aims to achieve a positive yearly return (after the fund charge and before tax) that over the long term is 3.2% over inflation, allowing for a negative return 4.1 years in every 20.
8 WESTPAC KIWISAVER BALANCED FUND
No. Members: 94,744
Value: $2,101,766,446
Growth in Past Year: 5.97% net charges and tax
Aims to provide medium returns over the medium to long term. The fund has a higher benchmark allocation to growth assets than to income assets. Volatility is expected to be higher than Westpac’s Moderate Fund but lower than the bank’s Growth Fund.
9 ANZ KIWISAVER BALANCED GROWTH FUND
No. Members: 94,115
Value: $3,096,220,709
Growth in Past Year: 11.56% net charges and tax
Invests mainly in growth assets (equities, listed property and listed infrastructure), with some exposure to income assets (cash and cash equivalents and fixed interest). The fund aims to achieve a positive yearly return (after the fund charge and before tax) that over the long term is 4% over inflation (allowing for a negative return 4.7 years in every 20).
10 ASB MODERATE FUND
No. Members: 82,724
Value: $2,490,868,794
Growth in Past Year: 2.86% net charges and tax
Aims to provide moderate to high total returns over the medium to long term relative to the target investment mix. The Balanced Fund invests in income and growth assets with a target investment mix of 40% income assets and 60% growth assets.
Top 10 KiwiSaver Funds By Recent Returns
As is clear from the above figures, it’s been a great year for those with growth and balanced funds, with double digit growth up to nearly 15%. However, which KiwiSaver funds really stood out over the past year? Here’s a list of the best performers. But when looking at some of the huge numbers here, up to 35%, it’s worth noting each fund’s return since inception, as these figures give a sense of perspective.
|
Provider |
Fund Name | Past year return net charges and tax | Return since fund started net |
| SUPERLIFE | US 500 FUND | 35.21% |
16.19% (2015) |
|
SUPERLIFE |
US LARGE GROWTH FUND | 33.3% | 19.82% (2015) |
| ONEANSWER | INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY FUND | 32.64% |
11.11% (2007) |
|
SUPERLIFE |
US LARGE VALUE FUND | 31.78% | 12.37% (2015) |
| SUPERLIFE | US MID CAP FUND | 29.46% |
13.12% (2015) |
|
INVESTNOW |
GLOBAL PROPERTY SECURITIES FUND | 29.41% | 39.68% (2020) |
| ONEANSWER | SUSTAINABLE INTERNATIONAL SHARE FUND | 28.39% |
12.12% (2008) |
|
KOURA |
US EQUITIES FUND | 28.33% | 24.71% (2019) |
| INVESTNOW | CLARITY GLOBAL SHARES FUND | 26.11% |
30.85% (2020) |
|
QUAYSTREET |
INTERNATIONAL EQUITY FUND | 25.59% |
13.59% (2009) |
Compare KiwiSaver Providers with Canstar
If you’re comparing superannuation funds, the comparison table below displays some of the products currently available on Canstar’s database for a KiwiSaver member with a balance of $50,000 in an Aggressive fund, sorted by Star Rating (highest to lowest), followed by company name (alphabetical) – some products may have links to providers’ websites. Use Canstar’s KiwiSaver comparison selector to view a wider range of super funds. Canstar may earn a fee for referrals.
To read more about our latest KiwiSaver Awards click this link or to compare KiwiSaver providers, click on the button below.
Compare KiwiSaver providers for free with Canstar!
About the author of this page
This report was written by Canstar’s Editor, Bruce Pitchers. Bruce began his career writing about pop culture, and spent a decade in sports journalism. More recently, he’s applied his editing and writing skills to the world of finance and property. Prior to Canstar, he worked as a freelancer, including for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority, and for real estate companies on both sides of the Tasman.
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