Budget drives advisers to KiwiSaver, survey finds

The survey of more than 220 advisers found that after the Budget almost 30% of advisers would change their approach to KiwiSaver with 90% of those saying they now “must get involved” with the remaining 10% opting out.

Prior to the Budget 73% of those surveyed said they were going to advise on KiwiSaver but the results suggest well over 90% of financial advisers would now actively participate in promoting the workplace savings schemes.

Over 40% of the respondents said KiwiSaver was an opportunity to secure new clients while 39% said it would help retain existing clients.

The majority of advisers would target employers (63%) with only 16% saying they would deliberately focus on employees for KiwiSaver advice. A further 21% were unsure of their KiwiSaver target market.

Despite the renewed enthusiasm amongst advisers for KiwiSaver a meagre 18% of them expected to make money directly out of advising on workplace savings schemes. Over 63% said KiwiSaver was unlikely to be profitable for them.

Of those who said they would make money from advising on KiwiSaver over half expected to turn a profit between two to five years with 11% optimistic of being in the black after one year.

Over a third of those surveyed said they would recommend between two to four KiwiSaver schemes while 11% would use five or more products. A large proportion (30%) were unsure how many KiwiSaver products they would use but 23% said they would stick with a single provider.

The five most popular KiwiSaver funds adviser would promote were: Fidelity, Asteron, Sovereign, Aon and Fisher Funds.

Further details from the survey are available in this month’s issue of ASSET magazine.