Mix

This is the actual mix of growth assets (shares, property) and income assets (bonds, cash) that this fund held on 31 December 2023. The average mix for balanced KiwiSaver funds is in grey.

Mix

Fees

Fees shown here (in purple) are based on what you would pay over a year if you had $10,000 in this fund. Compare with the average fees for balanced KiwiSaver funds (in grey).

Fees

Returns

Returns (in green) show how much this fund has grown in value in five years up to 31 December 2023 – after fees and taxes. Compare with the average balanced KiwiSaver fund (in grey).

Returns

Key facts

Here is what the provider says about this managed fund

Invests mainly in defensive assets such as fixed interest and cash, with about 40% invested in growth assets such as shares and real assets. May be suitable for investors who want to invest in a broad mix of assets and who are comfortable with a higher degree of volatility in returns than can be expected from the Conservative fund.

Provider website

mercer.co.nz

Fund start date

09 October 2015

When can you get your money out?

This is a KiwiSaver fund, which means generally you can withdraw only to purchase a first home, after the age of 65 or in cases of financial hardship.

Mix



This is a snapshot of the proportion of growth assets (shares, property, other) or income assets (cash, bonds) that this fund held on 31 December 2023.

You can also see the average for Balanced funds, which typically hold from 35% to 63% of growth assets.

This fund's asset mix

  • Growth assets
  • Income assets
  • ASSET TYPE
  • THIS FUND
  • AVERAGE OF ALL BALANCED KIWISAVER FUNDS

Breakdown on Shares assets
ACTUAL TARGET AVERAGE
Total 31.38% 47.72%
International shares 22.03% 22.50% 33.16%
Australasian shares 9.35% 9.50% 14.56%

About shares

Buying shares gives you part ownership in a company and can bring returns from your share of the profits (dividends) or from selling the shares for more than you paid. Shares are growth assets and are also known as equities or stock. Here's more on the basics of shares.

Breakdown on Property assets
ACTUAL TARGET AVERAGE
Total 3.93% 3.49%
Listed property 3.93% 4.00% 3.10%
Unlisted property 0.00% 0.00% 0.40%

About property

Property refers to commercial real estate (not the family home) owned through property trusts or companies that own or develop real estate as their business. Properties are growth assets and can be listed on an exchange or be unlisted.

Breakdown on Other assets
ACTUAL TARGET AVERAGE
Total 3.92% 1.53%
Commodities 0.00% 0.00% 0.17%
Other 3.92% 4.00% 1.36%
Unknown 0.00% 0% 0.00%

What "other" means

This category can include alternative investments such as derivatives, often through a hedge fund. These "other" investments are typically considered growth assets, or high-risk investments.

Breakdown on Bonds assets
ACTUAL TARGET AVERAGE
Total 41.33% 37.77%
New Zealand bonds 12.86% 13.00% 16.75%
International bonds 28.47% 29.00% 21.02%

About bonds

A bond is a bit like a term deposit at a bank, but it's effectively a loan you make to a company or government which they promise to pay back in full on a specific date. Until then, you receive regular interest at a fixed or agreed rate. Bonds are income assets and can also be called "fixed interest" or "debt securities". Since they can typically be traded on a secondary market, their value can go up and down. Here's more on the basics of bonds

Breakdown on Cash assets
ACTUAL TARGET AVERAGE
Total 19.44% 9.48%
Cash and equivalents 19.44% 18.00% 9.48%

About cash

Cash is a kind of investment that generally pays you interest. (An exception to this are shariah-compliant funds, which can hold cash but are prohibted from earning interest.) Cash typically includes term deposits, floating-rate notes and money market accounts. Cash, which is often a loan to a bank, is considered an income asset. Here's more on investing in term deposits.

Top 10 investments

These assets make up 16.28% of this fund.

Asset Asset class Type Country % of Fund
ROBECO GLOBAL CREDITS FUND Bonds International fixed interest LU 5.64%
FIRST SENTIER GLOBAL LISTED INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Other Other NZ 2.54%
NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT BOND 1.50% 15/05/2031 Bonds New Zealand fixed interest NZ 1.16%
NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT BOND 3.00% 20/04/2029 Bonds New Zealand fixed interest NZ 1.13%
NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT BOND 1.75% 15/05/2041 Bonds New Zealand fixed interest NZ 1.08%
NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT BOND 2.75% 15/04/2037 Bonds New Zealand fixed interest NZ 1.01%
FISHER & PAYKEL HEALTHCARE CORPORATION LIMITED Shares Australasian equities NZ 0.99%
NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT BOND 0.50% 15/05/2024 Bonds New Zealand fixed interest NZ 0.95%
HOUSING NEW ZEALAND LIMITED BOND 3.36% 12/06/2025 Bonds New Zealand fixed interest NZ 0.90%
AUCKLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LIMITED Shares Australasian equities NZ 0.88%

Full list of investments this fund holds

xlsx, 389 KB

Fees



Fees shown here (in purple) are based on what you would pay over a year if you had $10,000 in this fund. You can compare these with fees for the average balanced KiwiSaver fund (in grey).

Fees breakdown

Here's a breakdown of the different charges in this fund (in purple), compared to the average balanced KiwiSaver fund (in grey).

Fee Type % Over a Year Amount Paid on a 10K Balance

Management

This fee is charged to you by the fund manager on the fund or an underlying fund, and is based on a percentage of your balance.

0.58%
AVG: 0.78%
$58.00
AVG: $77.63

Other

This is a summary of other potential costs not covered in the categories displayed.

0.18%
AVG: 0.08%
$18.00
AVG: $8.19

Performance-based

These fees are based on the performance of the fund or underlying fund. When the fund performs well, these will be higher.

None
AVG: 0.00%
$0.00
AVG: $0.06

Membership

You pay this membership charge (a flat fee) each year, regardless of your balance or the fund's performance.

0.00%
AVG: 0.15%
$0.00
AVG: $15.27

Total combined fees

These are a total of management and administration charges and performance-based fees over a year. They do not necessarily include fees for activities like transferring or withdrawing.

0.76%
AVG: 1.01%
$76.00
AVG: $101.15

Returns


For the past five years, this fund returned this average each year to investors (in green). This was after fees and taxes (28% PIR) were taken out. To compare, you can see the average return over the same time for all balanced KiwiSaver funds (in grey).

Yearly returns

These annual returns (in green) were for the 12 months up to 31 March 2023. You can compare them to the average balanced KiwiSaver fund (in grey).

Risks

Specific risks for this fund

Chasing higher returns while investing always increases risks. Several kinds of risks, actually. It is important to evaluate whether the returns are worth it, whether you can cope, and whether this investment will in fact help you achieve your goals. Also, since the way an investment is structured can make it riskier, it's important to understand how it works.

You'll find the specific risks in the Risk section of the PDS, and here's more about understanding risk.

pdf, 5.4 MB

Risk indicator

This is a gauge of how volatile this investment has been – how much it has gone up and down in value. It has been calculated based on the fund's five-year performance (or an appropriate market index if it has not been around that long).

The left side of this range of numbers indicates a Lower risk

The right side of this range of numbers indicates a Higher risk

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7

The left side of this range of numbers indicates Potentially
lower returns

The right side of this range numbers indicates Potentially
higher returns

Key documents

These are the most important documents that a provider is required to file about this investment.

Product disclosure statement

Before you invest in a product like a fund, you are given a PDS which has essential details about it and the company providing it. Here's more on how to read a PDS.

pdf, 5.4 MB

Fund update (most recent)

This update from the provider lets you see much of the same information shown here in Smart Investor: how this fund is performing, what it costs and the investments it currently holds.

pdf, 774 KB

Complete asset portfolio

Additional disclosure documents

Statement of investment policy and objectives (SIPO)

A SIPO tells you where the fund managers are coming from. It sets out the governance and management framework, philosophy, strategies and objectives for this investment.

pdf, 61 KB

Key personnel

These are the directors and employees who have the most influence on investment decisions for this fund.

Name Current position Time in role
ROSS BUTLER Chair - Mercer (N.Z.) Ltd 8 months
MARTIN LEWINGTON CEO - Mercer (N.Z.) Ltd 14 years, 10 months
KYLIE WILLMENT Chief Investment Officer, Pacific, Mercer Australia (Pty) Ltd 6 years, 2 months
PADRAIG BROWN Chief Investment Officer - New Zealand, Mercer (N.Z.) Ltd 1 year, 7 months
DAVID SCOBIE Principal Investments, New Zealand - Mercer (N.Z.) Ltd 5 months

Additional details

Manager details

Name

MERCER (N.Z.) LIMITED

Type

NZ Limited Company

Website

NZBN

Supervisor

Name

TRUSTEES EXECUTORS LIMITED

Fund details

Asset liquidity ratio

100.00%

Total value of fund

$9,084,976.68

Debt ratio

0.01%

Continuous issue

Yes

Default KiwiSaver

No

Lifecycle option

No

Multi-fund option

No

Schedule 1 exemption

No

FMA exemption

No

Number of members

518

Reference numbers

Fund

FND34: MODERATE FUND

Offer

OFR10278: NEW ZEALAND DEFENCE FORCE KIWISAVER SCHEME

Scheme

SCH10279: NEW ZEALAND DEFENCE FORCE KIWISAVER SCHEME

Next steps

Want to know more about this investment or how it compares to others? Have a look at its peers.

This is a

balanced KiwiSaver fund

Product disclosure statement

Take a deeper dive into the PDS, which has essential details about this offer and the company providing it. Here's more on how to read a PDS.

Fund update (most recent)

These are provided to members of the fund (usually once each quarter) to update them on its performance.

Getting investment advice

Good advice is gold. Everyone can benefit from expert advice, provided the adviser has your interests at heart. Here's how to find one and key questions to ask. 

Interested in investing in this offer? Visit the provider's website. mercer.co.nz