Sharesies' KiwiSaver still going for growth, reaches break-even on cash flow
Sharesies KiwiSaver offering was marginally cash-flow-positive in the year ended March but its general manager says the focus is still on growth and enhancing its products.
Friday, July 24th 2026, 6:00AM
by Jenny Ruth
Sharesies Matt Macpherson its KiwiSaver is about chasing scale, not profitability. Pic Supplied
Matt Macpherson says members of the KiwiSaver fund reach about 26,000 at March 31 and has since grown to just over 35,000.
Part of that growth has been fuelled by Sharesies’ offering KiwiSaver accounts for children – “That’s really resonated well,” Macpherson says.
But that’s only part of the growth story – of the 8,300 new members attracted to the scheme between April and June 30, about 2,900 were children.
Sharesies Investment Management reported a $270,000 net loss for the year ended March, down from the previous year’s $1.09 million net loss.
Cash flow was positive to the tune of $55,000 compared with the $1.14 million cash outflow the previous year.
Managed funds referral revenue – the scheme provides a platform from which members can chose external managers – jumped 77% to $3.75 million while share trading transaction fees jumped more than five fold to $895,000 from $176,000 the previous year.
Revenue over all climbed to $6.73 million from $2.38 million the previous year while operating expenses grew at a somewhat slower pace from $3.49 million in the 2025 year to just over $7 million in the year ended March..
“We’re continuing to invest in product, marketing and distribution. We’re not really chasing profitability, we’re chasing scale,” Macpherson says.
He notes that some of the funds Sharesies KiwiSaver members can access come with extremely low fees – the US 500 fund launched a couple of years ago charges fees of just nine basis points while the world share fund, which includes about 8,000 companies in 40 countries but which has a 60% weighting towards the US, charges fees of 12bp.
Macpherson says the single biggest factor that most attracts people to the Sharesies KiwiSaver product is the increased degree of control it provides members compared to other schemes.
The Sharesies group didn’t kick in any more equity into the investment management company in the latest year, having previously provided $3 million, but does provide it with an intercompany funding facility of $3 million, increased from $1 million the previous year.
The funding facility, which is non-interest bearing and repayable on demand, was $1.65 million at balance date. Macpherson says this was the amount owed to the group at balance date for services it provides.
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