Low-fee KiwiSaver providers to the fore in Morningstar survey
Kernel is celebrating taking the top spot for the high-growth and cash categories in its first three full years.
Monday, February 9th 2026, 9:02AM 
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Morningstar has released its KiwiSaver survey for the December quarter.
It shows that over the quarter, default funds returned an average 2 percent, conservative 0.7 percent, balanced 1.6 percent, growth 1.7 percent and aggressive 2.8 percent.
Over a year, aggressive funds were up 12.8 percent and growth 9.7 percent. Balanced funds were up 9.7 percent and conservative 5.8 percent.
The highest performer over a year was Kernel’s S&P Global Clean Energy fund and the lowest performer was Koura Bitcoin, which has been dragged down by recent falls in the price of the cryptocurrency.
It is the first time that Kernel features among the three-year returns. For conservative, balanced and growth funds, Quay St is the best performer over three years. But Kernel is top for aggressive and cash funds.
“That timing matters,” Kernel founder Dean Anderson said. “Those three years include inflation shocks, rapid rate rises, geopolitical conflict and sustained market volatility. It’s a period that has tested investment approaches, not flattered them.
“The data also highlights just how wide the variation in KiwiSaver outcomes can be over the same market conditions. Different fee levels, levels of transparency and investment discipline are leading to meaningfully different results for KiwiSaver members.
“What’s coming through clearly is that when markets are chaotic, the controllables start to dominate. Fees, diversification, transparency and a data-driven approach have mattered far more than predictions or complexity. The last few years haven’t rewarded clever market calls - they’ve rewarded process.”
Some big names, such as ANZ, continue to lag. It is ranked 31st over three years in the balanced category and 27th in growth.
Report author Greg Bunkall noted another low-fee provider, Simplicity, also had a strong quarter with its funds in the top of most categories.
ANZ still has the biggest slice of the market at $23 billion. ASB is second.
There is now $145 billion in assets under management in KiwiSaver, up $5b in three months thanks to market returns and inflows.
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