Regular readers will know that we have been analysing KiwiSaver returns on the basis of regular savings patterns.
These give importantly different results because the size of your KiwiSaver balance grows over time, and therefore it stands to reason that the percentage amount of your returns means more when the balance is larger than when it was smaller.
The key is the dollar return being added to your contributions, rather than just the % return the fund claims.
We have previously reported on these returns for Default and Conservative funds here and Balanced and Moderate funds here.
We are now reporting on the Aggressive and Growth fund groups.
It is important to benchmark your fund's performance with others that have a similar objective.
But as we have pointed out before, there is no real agreement over how to classify funds.
The funds themselves describe a risk label. But so does Sorted, and other professional analysts such as Morningstar.
But our view is that none of these are very satisfactory. You can see our opinion here, and the following tables are based on that.
However, for easy reference we have supplied a code that shows how others have classifies them.
We believe long-term performance is a key way to assess how a fund performs. But there is always a concern that a fund may be resting on earlier laurels, and long term results don't show recent under-performance.
To keep an eye on that aspect, we are adding an additional metric - the return over the last three years. Any shorter can encourage you to consider switching in a way that is neither healthy for your returns, nor recognising of long-term gains. Don't use your KiwiSaver account as a share trader would. It is a long-term commitment. (If you are keen to chase high returns, choose an aggressive fund and leave the research and trading to their experts.)
Here is the comparison as at March 2014 for Aggressive Funds.
Aggressive funds are traditionally those portfolios which have the highest exposure to shares and the most volatile returns from one year to the next. The probability of experiencing a negative return in any one year is higher than for other risk profile. Although the losses in capital may be experienced more frequently, over the long run your capital value should grow more quickly than the more conservative funds.
| Aggressive Funds |
Cumulative $ contributions |
+ Cum net gains after tax and fees |
Effective cum return |
= Ending value in your account |
Effective last 3 yr return |
|||
| since April 2008 | X | Y | Z | |||||
| to March 2014 | (EE, ER, Govt) | $ | % p.a. | $ | % pa | |||
| Craigs NZ Equity | A | A | 9,509 | 3,233 | 15.83% | 12,743 | 14.78% | |
| Aon Milford | A | G | AE | 17,885 | 11,965 | 15.17% | 29,850 | 16.96% |
| Milford Active Growth | A | G | AE | 17,885 | 11,933 | 15.14% | 29,818 | 16.92% |
| Mercer SuperTrust TransTasman | A | A | AE | 17,885 | 10,085 | 13.34% | 27,970 | 15.06% |
| ANZ OneAnswer Aust Share | A | A | AE | 17,885 | 10,080 | 13.33% | 27,965 | 14.47% |
| FirstChoice Global Sustainability | A | A | IE | 17,885 | 7,999 | 11.12% | 25,884 | 11.57% |
| ANZ OneAnswer Intl Property | A | A | P | 17,885 | 7,773 | 10.87% | 25,658 | 8.82% |
| ANZ Growth | A | G | G | 17,885 | 7,362 | 10.40% | 25,247 | 10.69% |
| Fisher Funds Growth | A | A | A | 17,885 | 7,162 | 10.17% | 25,047 | 8.16% |
| ANZ OneAnswer Aust Property | A | A | P | 17,885 | 7,159 | 10.17% | 25,044 | 11.26% |
| ANZ OneAnswer Growth | A | G | G | 17,885 | 7,103 | 10.10% | 24,988 | 10.21% |
| Mercer SuperTrust Shares | A | A | AE | 17,885 | 6,631 | 9.55% | 24,516 | 9.44% |
| Aon Russell LifePoints 2045 | A | G | A | 17,885 | 6,622 | 9.53% | 24,507 | 9.60% |
| ANZ OnePath Growth | A | G | G | 17,885 | 6,086 | 8.89% | 23,971 | 9.16% |
| FirstChoice Growth | A | G | G | 17,885 | 5,854 | 8.60% | 23,739 | 9.50% |
| ASB Growth | A | G | G | 17,885 | 5,829 | 8.57% | 23,714 | 8.56% |
| Fisher Funds TWO Equity | A | A | IE | 17,885 | 5,825 | 8.57% | 23,710 | 8.20% |
| FirstChoice Active Growth | A | G | G | 17,885 | 5,781 | 8.51% | 23,666 | 8.84% |
| AMP Aggressive | A | A | A | 17,885 | 5,615 | 8.31% | 23,500 | 8.90% |
| Fidelity Options | A | A | Misc | 17,885 | 5,610 | 8.30% | 23,495 | 5.23% |
| Mercer SuperTrust Real Assets | A | A | P | 17,885 | 5,543 | 8.22% | 23,429 | 7.93% |
| Mercer High Growth | A | A | 17,885 | 5,489 | 8.15% | 23,374 | 7.96% | |
| FirstChoice Active High Growth | A | A | IE | 17,885 | 5,411 | 8.05% | 23,296 | 9.09% |
| Mercer SuperTrust High Growth | A | A | A | 17,885 | 5,372 | 8.00% | 23,257 | 7.68% |
| Westpac Growth | A | G | G | 17,885 | 5,360 | 7.98% | 23,245 | 7.86% |
| AMP Growth | A | G | G | 17,885 | 5,298 | 7.90% | 23,183 | 8.39% |
| SmartKiwi Growth | A | A | AE | 17,885 | 5,261 | 7.86% | 23,146 | 8.09% |
| Mercer SuperTrust Global Shares | A | A | IE | 17,885 | 5,096 | 7.65% | 22,981 | 6.77% |
| Brook Professional Growth | A | A | A | 17,885 | 5,088 | 7.64% | 22,973 | 8.76% |
| Craigs Equity | A | A | 12,952 | 2,473 | 7.24% | 15,425 | 6.06% | |
| Fidelity Aggressive | A | A | A | 17,885 | 4,709 | 7.14% | 22,594 | 5.88% |
| Fidelity AC Growth | A | G | A | 3,477 | 213 | 7.14% | 3,690 | |
| Staples Rodway Growth | A | G | G | 17,885 | 4,546 | 6.93% | 22,431 | 6.58% |
| Grosvenor International Share | A | A | IE | 11,584 | 2,318 | 6.88% | 13,902 | 7.56% |
| ANZ OneAnswer Intl Share | A | A | IE | 17,885 | 4,424 | 6.76% | 22,309 | 6.58% |
| Lifestages Growth | A | A | 17,885 | -3,540 | 6.15% | 14,345 | 5.46% | |
| Grosvenor High Growth | A | A | A | 17,885 | 3,564 | 5.59% | 21,449 | 5.17% |
| Grosvenor Socially Responsible | A | A | AE | 11,756 | 1,692 | 5.41% | 13,448 | 4.74% |
| ANZ OneAnswer Sustainable Growth | A | A | IE | 17,885 | 2,659 | 4.29% | 20,544 | 3.73% |
| Craigs Australian Equity | A | A | 9,509 | 679 | 3.82% | 10,188 | 2.58% | |
| Grosvenor Geared Growth | A | A | A | 14,336 | 2,484 | 2.82% | 16,820 | 5.17% |
| Grosvenor Trans-Tasman Small Companies | A | A | AE | 11,756 | 126 | -0.17% | 11,882 | -2.26% |
| Law Retirement Dynamic | A | G | 12,952 | -424 | -1.41% | 12,528 | -3.29% | |
| ------------------- | ||||||||
| Column X is interest.co.nz definition, column Y is Sorted's definition, column Z is Morningstar's definition | ||||||||
| A = Aggressive, AE = Australian Equities, G = Growth, IE = International Equities, P = Property | ||||||||
Growth Funds
For Growth or Moderately Aggressive type funds there is slightly less volatility in returns compared to Aggressive funds as they will generally have some exposure to cash and fixed interest to offset some of the risks associated with sharemarket investments.
Although the losses in capital may be experienced more frequently, over the long run your capital value should grow more quickly than the more conservative funds.
Here are these comparative results:
| Growth Funds |
Cumulative $ contributions |
+ Cum net gains after tax and fees |
Effective cum return |
= Ending value in your account |
Effective last 3 yr return |
|||
| since April 2008 | X | Y | Z | |||||
| to March 2014 | (EE, ER, Govt) | $ | % p.a. | $ | % p.a. | |||
| BNZ Growth | G | G | $3,113 | $254 | 12.13% | $3,367 | 0.00% | |
| Mercer Super Trust ANZ OneAnswer Balanced | G | B | $17,885 | $6,648 | 9.57% | $24,533 | 9.07% | |
| AMP ANZ OnePath Balanced | G | B | G | $17,885 | $6,627 | 9.54% | $24,512 | 9.50% |
| ANZ Balanced Growth | G | G | G | $17,885 | $6,473 | 9.36% | $24,359 | 9.54% |
| Aon Russell LifePoints Growth | G | G | G | $17,885 | $6,468 | 9.35% | $24,354 | 9.35% |
| ANZ OneAnswer Balanced Growth | G | B | B | $17,885 | $6,233 | 9.07% | $24,118 | 9.09% |
| Aon ANZ OnePath Balanced | G | B | G | $17,885 | $6,103 | 8.91% | $23,988 | 8.45% |
| Aon Russell LifePoints 2035 | G | G | G | $17,885 | $6,035 | 8.83% | $23,920 | 8.67% |
| Fisher Funds TWO Growth | G | G | G | $17,885 | $6,000 | 8.78% | $23,885 | 8.85% |
| Aon Russell LifePoints Balanced | G | B | B | $17,885 | $5,868 | 8.62% | $23,754 | 8.28% |
| Staples Rodway Balanced | G | B | G | $17,885 | $5,836 | 8.58% | $23,722 | 8.52% |
| ANZ OnePath Balanced Growth | G | G | G | $17,885 | $5,404 | 8.04% | $23,289 | 8.15% |
| FirstChoice Balanced | G | B | B | $17,885 | $5,222 | 7.81% | $23,107 | 7.69% |
| Mercer AMP Resp.Inv.Leaders Bal. | G | B | $14,336 | $3,558 | 7.77% | $17,894 | 7.79% | |
| ASB Balanced | G | B | B | $17,885 | $5,180 | 7.75% | $23,066 | 7.60% |
| FirstChoice Active Balanced | G | B | B | $17,885 | $5,132 | 7.69% | $23,017 | 7.82% |
| AMP Balanced | G | B | B | $17,885 | $4,930 | 7.43% | $22,816 | 7.71% |
| Mercer SuperTrust Growth | G | G | A | $17,885 | $4,826 | 7.30% | $22,711 | 6.89% |
| Westpac Balanced | G | B | B | $17,885 | $4,637 | 7.05% | $22,522 | 6.68% |
| Mercer Balanced | G | G | G | $17,885 | $4,619 | 7.02% | $22,504 | 6.66% |
| Mercer SuperTrust Active Balanced | G | G | G | $17,885 | $4,483 | 6.84% | $22,369 | 6.46% |
| Fidelity Growth | G | G | G | $17,885 | $4,421 | 6.76% | $22,306 | 6.98% |
| Mercer AMP Capital Balanced | G | B | $17,885 | $4,293 | 6.59% | $22,178 | 6.42% | |
| SmartKiwi Balanced | G | B | B | $17,885 | $4,225 | 6.50% | $22,110 | 6.52% |
| Craigs Growth | G | G | $17,885 | $3,897 | 6.05% | $21,782 | 5.23% | |
| Craigs Balanced SRI | G | $17,885 | $3,891 | 6.04% | $21,776 | 5.95% | ||
| Craigs Balanced | G | B | $17,885 | $3,768 | 5.87% | $21,653 | 5.18% | |
| Brook Professional Balanced | G | B | B | $17,885 | $3,577 | 5.61% | $21,462 | 6.00% |
| Grosvenor Balanced Growth | G | G | G | $11,928 | $1,714 | 5.35% | $13,642 | 5.07% |
| Law Retirement Balanced | G | G | $12,952 | -$338 | -1.12% | $12,614 | -2.78% | |
| ------------------- | ||||||||
| Column X is interest.co.nz definition, column Y is Sorted's definition, column Z is Morningstar's definition | ||||||||
| G = Growth, B = Balanced | ||||||||
The right fund type for you will depend on your tolerance for risk and importantly on you life stage. You should move only with appropriate advice and for a substantial reason.
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