Smooth sailing no more

After nearly a decade of positive returns, members of UniSaver were unfortunately confronted with negative returns for the year in all options except Cash. While shares had a difficult period early in the year, they started to decline more significantly in the fourth quarter. Global fixed-income markets provided some protection, but the returns were not strong enough to generate positive returns for members in Conservative, Balanced and Growth. You can read about the main influences on market performance during the year and the outlook for 2018 here.

KiwiSaver returns ahead of UniSaver over the short term 

Returns for 2018 were also disappointing relative to KiwiSaver funds. The decision to hedge currency risk on most of the scheme’s offshore exposures provided a headwind for UniSaver in terms of returns, with most KiwiSaver schemes benefiting from their greater exposure to offshore currency. However, over the longer term (five years), all three options are still performing well above the median KiwiSaver provider. These graphs compare returns over one, three and five years against funds with a similar mix of assets in various KiwiSaver schemes. 

UniSaver fees well below KiwiSaver average

Fees impact on the growth of your savings, which is why UniSaver’s relatively low fees are a distinct advantage for members. These graphs show the total fees charged for $100,000 invested in UniSaver’s three main funds against the average for KiwiSaver schemes with a similar mix of assets (from the latest survey by Morningstar – an independent company that monitors fund performance, including fees).

This section of the website brings together a range of material relating to the performance of UniSaver for the year ended 31 December 2018. The annual report and fund updates follow the format prescribed by regulations associated with the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. We’ve created these documents as web pages to make them easier to read online. The annual report and full financial statements are also available as pdfs at www.disclose-register.companiesoffice.govt.nz. Enter the scheme name 'UniSaver', then click on the 'Documents' tab.