Life stages research shows big differences in outcomes

The research was commissioned by NZ Funds and reviewed the lifestages options available in New Zealand.

Nine out of 22 KiwiSaver managers offer a lifestages option. These reduce the level of risk an investor is exposed to over time.

David Rae, an investment consultant and principal at MyFiduciary said the research found that the average fund was too conservative overall and started de-risking too early.

There are two main approaches to lifestages investment – one makes small regular changes to asset allocation while the other undertakes less frequent but bigger steps. AMP, ANZ, Generate and Lifestages opt for the latter.