ASB KiwiSaver comes out poorly in survey

ASB KiwiSaver ranks last for customer satisfaction, Consumer NZ survey finds.

Friday, July 2nd 2021, 7:06AM

Just 43% of ASB customers were happy with the service they were getting. Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said ASB’s score was significantly below the market average of 55%.

“ASB also scored below average on all our key satisfaction measures. Just 37% of customers thought ASB did a good job keeping them up to date about their investment, compared with the industry average of 48%,” Duffy said.

ANZ, the biggest KiwiSaver provider, also scored significantly below average for overall satisfaction with a rating of 50%.

“The best performers this year were streets ahead. Milford Funds came out on top with 85% overall satisfaction. It scored particularly well for access to account information (93%) and keeping customers updated about their investment (84%).”

Simplicity was second placed (74%) and Aon New Zealand third (73%).

"Our results show a big difference between the best and worst performers when it comes to keeping customers informed about what’s happening with their money," Duffy said.

Across the market, six out of 10 Kiwis didn’t know how their fund was faring compared with others. Fee transparency was also a big issue. Seventy percent didn’t know how much they paid in fees. The amount KiwiSaver providers earn from fees has continued to rise, totaling $539 million in 2020.

The survey also showed many Kiwis want to know their money is invested responsibly.

Almost half (48%) said they wanted a fund that provides a good return and invests responsibly – both were equally important. A further 13% ranked responsible investment as the priority.

One in three KiwiSavers said they would be very concerned if their money was invested in oil and gas exploration. However, 68% were unsure whether their provider invested in this area.

Changes announced by the government mean that from December default KiwiSaver providers will no longer be able to invest in fossil fuels. They will also be required to publish a responsible investment policy on their website.

Other changes to default schemes will see a drop in charges, a move which should put pressure on industry competitors to review their fees, Duffy said.

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