Kiwibank KiwiSaver to operate under GMI brand

Kiwibank has confirmed its KiwiSaver scheme will be replaced by one managed by Gareth Morgan Investments (GMI), but it hasn’t decided whether the scheme will be rated by Morningstar.

Friday, August 10th 2012, 7:41AM 3 Comments

GMI, which Kiwibank bought earlier this year for an undisclosed amount, is one of the few major KiwiSaver schemes that do not take part in the research house’s KiwiSaver Performance Survey, which measures returns after fees and before tax.

Kiwibank head of wealth product Joe Bishop said it was “too early” to say whether the scheme would put itself under Morningstar’s microscope: “that’s a discussion we’ll probably have at some point in the process.”

GMI manages a total of about $1.3 billion and had $715 million funds under management in its KiwiSaver scheme at the end of March according to its annual report.

Kiwibank general manager of wealth and insurance, Stuart Bremner said the intention is for members of the existing Kiwibank scheme to transfer, but that the processes for this are still being worked through. Members will be kept fully informed throughout.

“Drawing on the GMI expertise will provide Kiwibank customers with benefits such as improved transparency, customer service, in-house investment and detailed reporting while retaining access via Kiwibank Internet Banking and a simple, competitive fee structure.”

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Comments from our readers

On 13 August 2012 at 2:20 pm Disgruntled said:

Best to remove the GMI brand (it is worthless) and change attitudes by being upfront to your large customer base by disclosing the fund performances to Morningstar.

On 14 August 2012 at 4:31 pm Amused said:

“Drawing on the GMI expertise will provide Kiwibank customers with benefits such as improved transparency..."

Really? Not seeing a lot of "transparency" so far. Why wouldn't you want your Kiwisaver scheme rated by Morningstar? As Disgruntled says above change your attitude Kiwibank and do it now.

On 30 September 2012 at 12:55 pm Lindsay said:

This is the second time they have replaced schemes. Can they not make up there minds? And yes they should be rated by Morningstar, that's how I started with ING untill I wanted to use a Kiwi owned one.