Choosing a KiwiSaver fund that fits your goals
KiwiSaver is designed to help you build long-term savings for your future. Your choice of fund, or funds, can have a big impact on your retirement or first home savings. So, it’s important to consider your options.
There is no single “right” option - it's about what best fits your situation and how comfortable you are with market ups and downs. Your investment strategy can be changed at any time, with no switching fees.
1. What are you saving for?
This helps set the foundation for your investment strategy.
Saving for retirement
KiwiSaver is designed to help fund your retirement. Generally, the longer the time you have until you reach retirement, the more investment risk you can take.
This is because your money has more time to recover from potential market downturns.
Saving for your first home
You may be able to take out most of your savings to buy your first home if you’ve been a member of KiwiSaver or a complying superannuation scheme for 3 or more years.
If you plan to buy a house soon, you may want a lower-risk fund to reduce the impact of potential market swings.
Get started with the SuperLife KiwiSaver Scheme.
2. How long will your money stay invested?
Your timeframe helps guide how much risk you might take.
Shorter timeframe
If your timeframe is short, you might want to consider lower risk funds which are less impacted by large ups and downs when markets are volatile. This lowers your risk of loss but means lower returns over the long-term.
Longer timeframe
You'll be better able to ride out market ups and downs. By staying invested for a longer period, your KiwiSaver investments have the opportunity to recover from potential downturns and benefit from long-term growth.
3. Understanding your comfort with risk
Your investments are constantly on the move, both up and down. This is normal. Staying invested over a longer period can give your investment time to recover through potential downturns and result in long-term growth.
A good question to ask yourself is: How do you feel about potential short-term losses to maximise long-term growth?
Small ups and downs
Lower risk, with steadier (but usually lower) long-term growth potential.
Medium ups and downs
A balance of risk and growth potential.
Large ups and downs
Higher risk, with higher long-term growth potential - but bigger rises and falls along the way.
Past returns are not a reliable indicator of future returns, and all investing involves risk.
Our Diversified fund options are designed to suit different risk profiles, so you can choose a ready-made investment mix that matches your comfort with risk.
4. How do you want to manage your investment mix?
Option 1: Choose from one or more funds
Choose from our Diversified funds, which are pre-made portfolios designed to match different risk levels - from lower-risk options through to higher-growth funds.
If you’d like more control, My Mix lets you build your own investment portfolio from over 40 diversified and sector funds. You can adjust the mix of funds any time with no switching fees.
Option 2: Let your KiwiSaver adjust automatically with SuperLife Age Steps
SuperLife Age Steps automatically adjusts your mix of growth and income assets as you get older. This is designed to gradually reduce your exposure to higher-risk assets as you move closer to retirement age - without you needing to make changes yourself.
Get started with the SuperLife KiwiSaver Scheme.
The information on this page is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances. If you need personalised financial advice, please speak with a licensed financial adviser. The SuperLife KiwiSaver Scheme is issued by Smartshares Limited (Smart). The product disclosure statement is available at superlife.co.nz/legal.
