Consumer NZ reveals the best and worst KiwiSaver providers

Jon Duffy, chief executive at Consumer, says this year’s survey results show a big difference in the level of satisfaction New Zealanders experience when it comes to the management of their KiwiSaver funds.

"It's great to see that the KiwiSaver providers with the most satisfied customers – Simplicity, Generate and Milford – are all New Zealand-owned,” says Duffy.

“Each of these top-performing providers not only achieved our People’s Choice status again, but they performed above average for investment returns, too.

“Whether you’re investing your hard-earned money into KiwiSaver to save for your first home or retirement, return on investment is nearly always top of mind for most people.

“On the other end of the scale, it was a little disappointing to see the big four banks BNZ, ANZ, ASB and Westpac rank sixth, ninth, tenth and eleventh place, respectively.”

Investing but not impressing

At the bottom of the pack was AMP, scoring a 39% satisfaction rating. Its customers were the least satisfied with how AMP dealt with problems and complaints.

Westpac (BT Funds Management) performed poorly across every customer satisfaction measure. It took second-to-last place, scoring particularly poorly when it came to the way it kept customers updated about their investments.

In tenth place was ASB Group Investments, and ANZ Investments took ninth place. Both performed below average when it came to overall satisfaction and poorly for the fairness of their fees and charges.

Smaller providers outperforming larger players

“It’s great to see smaller fund managers outperforming big businesses in terms of satisfaction and service,” says Duffy.

Simplicity is a People’s Choice award winner for the fifth year in a row and ranked first place with an overall satisfaction score of 79%, thanks in part to the fairness of its fees and ethical investments.

Generate Investment Management was the joint top performer (with Simplicity) for ease of accessing account information and second place for timely responses to enquiries. It has won a People’s Choice award for the third year in a row.

Milford Funds has received the People's Choice award for the seventh year in a row, due in part to its above average performance for the fairness of its fees and keeping customers updated about their investments.