More KiwiSaver information needed: Boyle

In the last two months of 2014, more than 30,000 KiwiSaver members changed provider. On an annual basis, that increased from 126,000 in 2013 to 149,407 in 2014.

Commission for Financial Capability group manager investor education David Boyle said he expected those numbers to grow over the next five years as the market matured. “My concern is around people switching and not understanding the reasons why.”

Some might be chasing return, he said. But that did not take into account the fact that past returns did not indicate future returns – or that the risk profile of the high-performing fund might not be right for them.

Boyle said people who were in a conservative fund by default and saw strong returns from a growth fund needed to understand that they would be moving to a riskier option if they shifted.