Individuals should regularly check whether their Kiwisaver fund is right for them and not shy away from switching funds to a more suitable one if they are not appropriate.
The following points are what you should focus on when reviewing your fund:
- Is the fund suited to your situation – depending on which stage of life you are in, the fund that suits you or can provide you with the most benefit could change.
- Does it have reasonable fees – higher fees should correspond to higher returns, make sure you conduct research to identify the appropriate amount of fees.
- Will you receive good service and communication – In the case that you may need assistance, you should be able to easily contact your provider and acquire the support you need.
- How has your super performed – Review how your super fund has performed over the years. Don’t focus on just one year, look at how the fund has performed over time. If your fund has performed poorly, then look at how your potential other choices have performed.
There are 5 Kiwisaver options available:
- Defensive
- Conservative
- Balanced
- Growth
- Aggressive
Defensive has the lowest risk level, low volatility, low potential results, and the length of investment is only 1-3 years. With each level, these factors increase so that the aggressive option has the highest risk, high volatility, high potential results and the length of investment is as high as 13 years.
