Morningstar Releases KiwiSaver Performance Survey

Morningstar today released its KiwiSaver Performance Survey to 31 December 2010, designed to help New Zealand investors assess the performance of KiwiSaver superannuation options.

"Stronger sharemarket returns in the fourth quarter of 2010 were particularly beneficial for growth-oriented KiwiSaver funds," said Morningstar Co-Head of Fund Research Chris Douglas. "However, many of the best-performing options have previously been among the worst-performing. This illustrates the need for careful analysis rather than performance-chasing when selecting a KiwiSaver retirement savings vehicle."

Morningstar's KiwiSaver database is free for all fund managers to join, and reports are made freely available to investors and financial services professionals alike.

Other Key Findings
• KiwiSaver options most heavily-invested in growth assets (shares and property) generally produced the best results in the final quarter of 2010 and the full year.
• While a number of single-sector funds also did well, investors should also remember the particular risks associated with these narrower choices.
• Many of the best-performing funds in 2010 were among the worst performers in previous calendar years, illustrating the folly of selecting a KiwiSaver option solely on the basis of past performance.
• KiwiSaver assets have grown nearly eight-fold from NZ$954.10 million at 30 June 2008 to NZ$7.38 billion at 31 December 2010, a phenomenal growth rate for the funds management industry.
• OnePath and ASB remain the dominant players in KiwiSaver with 45.0 percent of KiwiSaver assets between them.

ENDS

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