According to the most recent KiwiSaver report, there are 3.25 million KiwiSaver members, who have $93.7bn invested across 38 schemes. Between those providers there are over 300 different funds, offering a wide range of investment options, growth strategies and different levels of risk.
However, the latest KiwiSaver report only covers to the end of March 2023. And much has happened to markets since then.
Back in March 2023, all of the top 10 biggest funds by number of members had experienced negative growth during the previous 12 months, net charges and tax.
They posted losses of between -4.03% and -1.23%. Although this was an improvement on the whole of 2022, when they dropped between -15.4% and -6.74%. 
However, since then things have picked up. The latest figures, to the end of September, show that the average 12-month return across the top 10 funds by number of members was 5.7%. And of those ten, the average of the four growth funds was 7.3%, which isn’t bad at all.
Although whatever a fund’s short-term return, it’s worth remembering that as a KiwiSaver member you should be in it for the long-haul. Always concentrate on long term returns, which are still mostly in positive territory, 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 compiled a list of the top ten most popular KiwiSaver funds, by total number of members.
Plus, we’ve also a table from our database listing the ten growth funds that earned the biggest returns over the past five years, according to the most recent Disclose Register update (to end of September 2023).
Top 10 KiwiSaver Funds By No. Members
1 ANZ KIWISAVER GROWTH FUND
No. Members: 259,378
Value: $4,452,424,504
Growth in Past Year: 7.1% net charges and tax
Net returns for the 10-year period ending 30/09/23: 6.81%
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 ASB KIWISAVER GROWTH FUND
No. Members: 168,614
Value: $5,176,217,298
Growth in Past Year: 7.53% net charges and tax
Net returns for the 10-year period ending 30/09/23: 6.78%
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.
3 WESTPAC KIWISAVER CONSERVATIVE FUND
No. Members: 165,553
Value: $2,937,073,321
Growth in Past Year: 3.08% net charges and tax
Net returns for the 10-year period ending 30/09/23: 3.12%
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.
4 ASB KIWISAVER CONSERVATIVE FUND
No. Members: 148,215
Value: $3,255,250,192
Growth in Past Year: 2.87% net charges and tax
Net returns for the 10-year period ending 30/09/23: 2.88%
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: 126,973
Value: $2,703,009,393
Growth in Past Year: 6.3% net charges and tax
Net returns for the 10-year period ending 30/09/23: 6.17%
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: 120,649
Value: $3,272,308,695
Growth in Past Year: 8.37% net charges and tax
Net returns for the 10-year period ending 30/09/23: 7.18%
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 GROWTH FUND
No. Members: 99,137
Value: $3,103,428,511
Growth in Past Year: 5.9% net charges and tax
Net returns for the 10-year period ending 30/09/23: 5.88%
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).
8 ANZ KIWISAVER BALANCED FUND
No. Members: 96,653
Value: $3,238,534,217
Growth in Past Year: 4.74% net charges and tax
Net returns for the 10-year period ending 30/09/23: 4.86%
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.
9 WESTPAC KIWISAVER BALANCED FUND
No. Members: 90,140
Value: $1,951,728,378
Growth in Past Year: 5.18% net charges and tax
Net returns for the 10-year period ending 30/09/23: 5.15%
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.
10 ASB BALANCED FUND
No. Members: 89,023
Value: $3,035,143,240
Growth in Past Year: 6.07% net charges and tax
Net returns for the 10-year period ending 30/09/23: 5.55%
Aims to provide moderate to high total returns allowing for moderate to high movements of value up and down. The Balanced Fund invests in income and growth assets with a target investment mix of 40% income assets and 60% growth assets.
Top KiwiSaver Growth Funds By 5-Year Returns
If you’re comparing KiwiSaver funds, the comparison table below displays some of the products currently available on Canstar’s database for a KiwiSaver member with a balance of $20,000 in a Growth fund, sorted by past 5-year return (highest to lowest), followed by company name (alphabetical) – some may have links to providers’ websites. Use Canstar’s KiwiSaver comparison selector to view a wider range of KiwiSaver 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!
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.
Compare KiwiSaver funds with Canstar
About the author of this page
This report was written by Canstar’s Editor, Bruce Pitchers. Bruce has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in the UK and Australasia, including ACP, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. 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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