BNZ cuts fees on KiwiSaver and YouWealth managed funds

Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) has moved to give customers further fee reductions on its KiwiSaver Scheme funds and its suite of easy-to-use managed investment funds, YouWealth, which will have the same fee level as most BNZ KiwiSaver funds.

From September 28 BNZ KiwiSaver Scheme and YouWealth funds will all be reduced to 0.45% per year, except for the BNZ KiwiSaver Cash fund, which will be 0.30% per year, and the new BNZ KiwiSaver Default Fund, which will be available from 1 December and will be priced at 0.35% per year.

BNZ, GM Wealth, Peter Forster, says “BNZ is thrilled to be able to offer more value for money to our customers. These are substantial reductions in fees that mean more money in the accounts of our customers over the long term. We’re especially pleased to be able to bring these benefits to our YouWealth customers too.

“With the fees for our KiwiSaver and YouWealth options now at the same level our customers can choose to invest in both – maximising the benefits of KiwiSaver while also taking advantage of the flexibility YouWealth provides.

“Our increasing scale means we can continually drive down costs, and we’re committed to frequently reviewing our fees to ensure these benefits get passed on, but never at the expense of the quality of our products.

“BNZ was the first of the big providers to drop fixed membership fees in 2019, and we’ve found ways to continue to drop the management fees. We believe our unique mix of active and passive management will deliver materially better long-term outcomes for our members at a lower cost,” says Forster.

The changes to YouWealth are particularly significant, with a fee reduction of more than 40 per cent.

“YouWealth is an excellent product that helps people invest and save for the future with the flexibility to invest as much as they would like, doing so on their own schedule, and with the ability to withdraw their funds at any time.

“Lower fees increase the relative attractiveness of managed funds, but we’ve also been hard at work reducing barriers to entry and making investing in funds more accessible.

“Now, a BNZ customer can contribute to and withdraw from YouWealth managed funds right from the BNZ app, so people can do it whenever and wherever they like, including managing regular contributions, simply and easily. We’ve also dropped our minimum investment so people can invest as little or as much as they like,” says Forster.

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