Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to search
Home

KiwiSaver and managed funds

CASH FUND

CASH FUND

MAS KIWISAVER SCHEME

MEDICAL FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED
mas.co.nz

KiwiSaver
Defensive
Tweet this article Email this article Share on Facebook

There are some aspects of this fund which may require extra consideration before deciding to invest.

Single asset class

Single-class funds, also called "single-sector", hold only one kind of investment (e.g. just shares or just bonds).

See the mix for this investment

Mix

Mix

This investment mix shows what this fund holds (in teal): the proportion of growth assets (shares, commercial property, or other) or income assets (bonds or cash). You can compare it with the average mix for this type of fund (in grey).

It's important to know that this shows what the fund actually held in the most recent quarter, not necessarily what its target is over the long term. Fund managers may vary their investment mix depending on market conditions, so occasionally this can cause a fund to temporarily change categories (e.g. balanced to conservative).

As you invest, your mix (often called asset allocation) is the most significant factor that will determine the results you get, including the ups and downs in value you experience. Choosing a specific mix is a way of dialling your risk up or down, depending on the amount of growth assets you take on board.

For the most appropriate mix for you and your situation (often called your risk profile), see Sorted's investor kickstarter for managed funds, or answer these three questions for KiwiSaver funds.
0.00% 100.00%

Growth assets Income assets

0.36% Average 99.64%

This is the actual mix of growth assets (shares, property) and income assets (bonds, cash) that this fund held on 31 December 2025. The average mix for defensive KiwiSaver funds is in grey.

Mix

Fees

Fees

Fees shown here (in purple) are based on what you would pay over a year if you had $30,000 in this fund. This includes both flat fees for membership and percentage fees.

The emptiest "doughnut" graph shows the fund with the lowest fees – a full one shows the one with the highest. You can compare each fund's fees to the average fees for this type of fund (in grey).

Fees cover the fund manager's costs. But the fees eat away at your results, so it's important to take note of fees. Higher fees don't necessarily mean better results – sometimes just the opposite.

Percentages make these fees seem tiny, but over long periods of time they typically add up to tens of thousands of dollars. To get an idea, see Sorted's KiwiSaver fund finder. Here's even more about fees.

0.25 % Average 0.57%

Fees shown here (in purple) are based on what you would pay over a year if you had $30,000 in this fund. Compare with the average fees for defensive KiwiSaver funds (in grey).

Fees

Returns

Returns

The return figures here show how much this fund has grown in value on average each year over the past five years (in green). This is after fees and taxes have been taken out.

A full "doughnut" graph here shows the fund with the highest 5-year return. You can compare each fund's results with the average for this type of fund (in grey).

Returns are the money that comes back to you from investing. They typically come from your investment becoming worth more, either because someone is willing to pay more for it, or from the money it spins off (such as profits you share when you invest in a company).

Chasing returns always brings a certain amount of risk with it. The higher returns you seek, the more risk you have to take on. These returns figures can be both positive and negative. Here's more on risk and return. 

2.53% Average 1.51%

Returns (in green) show how much this fund has grown in value in five years up to 31 December 2025 – after fees and taxes. Compare with the average defensive KiwiSaver fund (in grey).

Returns
Compare with other defensive KiwiSaver funds Product disclosure statement

The details

Key facts

Here is what the provider says about this managed fund

“ The Cash Fund invests in a range of cash and cash equivalent investments. The Fund aims to achieve stable returns over the short term. It is suitable for investors who require an investment with very low volatility. ”

Provider website
mas.co.nz

Fund start date
22 December 2008

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

0.00% 100.00%

Growth assets Income assets

(shares, property, other) (bonds, cash)

0.36% Average of all defensive KiwiSaver funds 99.64%

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 2025.

You can also see the average for defensive funds, which typically hold from 0% to 10% of growth assets.

Different mix, different result

As you invest, your mix (often called "asset allocation") is the most significant factor that will determine the results you get, including the ups and downs in value you experience. It's important to get right.

Choosing a specific mix is a way of dialling your risk up or down, depending on the amount of growth assets you take on board. The more risk you take on, the higher your returns are likely to be, although this is no sure thing. That's what risk is all about.

For the most appropriate mix for you and your situation (often called your "risk profile"), see Sorted's investor kickstarter for managed funds, or answer these three questions for KiwiSaver funds.

This fund's asset mix

Growth assets
Income assets

ASSET TYPE

THIS FUND

AVERAGE OF ALL DEFENSIVE KIWISAVER FUNDS

0.00%
0.23%
Breakdown on Shares assets
Empty ACTUAL TARGET AVERAGE
Total 0.00% — 0.23%
International shares 0.00% 0 0.12%
Australasian shares 0.00% 0 0.10%

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

0.00%
0.14%
Breakdown on Property assets
Empty ACTUAL TARGET AVERAGE
Total 0.00% — 0.14%
Listed property 0.00% 0 0.09%
Unlisted property 0.00% 0 0.05%

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.

0.00%
0.00%
Breakdown on Other assets
Empty ACTUAL TARGET AVERAGE
Total 0.00% — 0.00%
Commodities 0.00% 0 0.00%
Other 0.00% 0 0.00%
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.

0.00%
50.54%
Breakdown on Bonds assets
Empty ACTUAL TARGET AVERAGE
Total 0.00% — 50.54%
New Zealand bonds 0.00% 0 27.99%
International bonds 0.00% 0 22.56%

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.

100.00%
49.09%
Breakdown on Cash assets
Empty ACTUAL TARGET AVERAGE
Total 100.00% — 49.09%
Cash and equivalents 100.00% 100.00 49.09%

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 57.62% of this fund.

Asset Asset class Type Country % of Fund
JBWERE PREMIUM CUSTODY CALL ACCOUNT - NZD Cash Cash and Cash Equivalents NZ 22.03%
KIWIBANK TERM DEPOSIT 4.750% 13/02/2025 13/02/2026 Cash Cash and Cash Equivalents NZ 6.13%
KIWIBANK TERM DEPOSIT 4.300% 14/03/2025 16/03/2026 Cash Cash and Cash Equivalents NZ 4.06%
BANK OF NEW ZEALAND TERM DEPOSIT 4.08% 04/06/2025 04/06/2026 Cash Cash and Cash Equivalents NZ 4.01%
RABOBANK TERM DEPOSIT 4.000% 23/09/2025 23/09/2026 Cash Cash and Cash Equivalents NZ 3.96%
RABOBANK TERM DEPOSIT 4.000% 08/10/2025 08/10/2026 Cash Cash and Cash Equivalents NZ 3.96%
WESTPAC NEW ZEALAND TERM DEPOSIT 3.500% 05/12/2025 07/12/2026 Cash Cash and Cash Equivalents NZ 3.93%
KIWIBANK TERM DEPOSIT 3.550% 15/12/2025 11/09/2026 Cash Cash and Cash Equivalents NZ 3.44%
BANK OF CHINA TERM DEPOSIT 4.700% 07/02/2025 09/02/2026 Cash Cash and Cash Equivalents NZ 3.06%
BANK OF CHINA TERM DEPOSIT 4.400% 08/04/2025 08/04/2026 Cash Cash and Cash Equivalents NZ 3.04%

Full list of investments this fund holds

CASH FUND (FND1153) Full portfolio holdings 31 December 2025.xlsx

Download the full portfolio holdings.

XLSX, 1.65 KB

Fees

0.25 % This fund

0.57% Average defensive KiwiSaver funds


Fees shown here (in purple) are based on what you would pay over a year if you had $30,000 in this fund. You can compare these with fees for the average defensive KiwiSaver fund (in grey).

Fees: why less is more

You do not always get what you pay for when investing. With fund fees, paying more does not mean you necessarily get better results. It's often the opposite: the more we pay, the less we get. This is because the returns we receive are after any fees and taxes get paid.

Since no one can tell the future and how the different funds will do, it's best to choose one with low fees where possible. For more, see Flipping the thinking on fees.

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 30k 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.
0.24%

AVG: 0.47%
$72.00

AVG: $139.80

Other

This is a summary of other potential costs not covered in the categories displayed.
0.01%

AVG: 0.06%
$3.00

AVG: $17.29

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%
None

AVG: $0.00

Membership

You pay this membership charge (a flat fee) each year, regardless of your balance or the fund's performance.
0.00%

AVG: 0.05%
$0.00

AVG: $14.97

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.
0.25%

AVG: 0.57%
$75.00

AVG: $172.06

Returns

2.53% This fund

1.51% Average defensive KiwiSaver funds


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 defensive KiwiSaver funds (in grey).

Returns: living in the past

Seeking returns is what investing is all about, but those shown here are already gone; they won't continue.

It's unwise to choose a fund based on how well it has done in the past. There are a lot of other criteria to make a smart choice, such as the right investment mix for you and reasonable fees.

Yearly returns

These annual returns (in green) were for the 12 months up to 31 December 2025 You can compare them to the average defensive KiwiSaver fund (in grey).

MARCH
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
This fund
2.54%
1.79%
1.73%
1.64%
1.28%
0.60%
0.54%
1.96%
3.85%
4.04%
Average
2.63%
1.52%
2.07%
2.39%
1.67%
1.64%
-1.80%
-0.19%
3.51%
3.81%

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.

MAS Kiwi Saver Scheme Product Disclosure Statement 1 April 2026.pdf

How this investment works, including about the provider, risks, costs and potential returns

PDF, 926.23 KB

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).

Lower risk

Higher risk

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Potentially lower returns

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.

MAS Kiwi Saver Scheme Product Disclosure Statement 1 April 2026.pdf

How this investment works, including about the provider, risks, costs and potential returns

PDF, 926.23 KB

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.

MAS Kiwi Saver Scheme Cash Fund Fund Update 31 December 2025.pdf

The quarterly update published by the provider

PDF, 638.63 KB

Additional disclosure documents

These are more documents from the provider that can contain interesting information.

MAS Responsible Investment Policy 1 December 2025.pdf

The MAS Responsible Investment Policy describes the way that the Manager implements its responsible investment beliefs as part of the investment strategy of the Scheme.

PDF, 2.69 MB
MAS Kiwi Saver Scheme Other Material Information 1 April 2026.pdf

MAS KiwiSaver Scheme - Other Material Information

PDF, 759.73 KB

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.

MAS Kiwi Saver Scheme SIPO 1 December 2025.pdf

Statement of investment policy and objectives

PDF, 863.86 KB

Complete asset portfolio

Browse through the complete list of investments held by this fund.

CASH FUND (FND1153) Full portfolio holdings 31 December 2025.xlsx

Download the full portfolio holdings.

XLSX, 1.65 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

HAYDEN GRIFFITHS

Head of Asset Allocation, JBWere

29 years, 8 months

BRENDAN O’DONOVAN

Chair Investment Committee

8 years, 6 months

DANIEL MEAD

Head of Investment

2 years, 5 months

DEV ARCHARYA

NZ Fixed Interest Manager, JBWere

5 months

TOM PHILLIPS

Senior Adviser, JBWere

21 years, 4 months

Additional details


Manager details

Name

MEDICAL FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Type

NZ Limited Company

Website

mas.co.nz

NZBN

9429039171085

View on Companies Register

FSP Number

FSP39643

View on Financial Service Providers Register

Supervisor

Name

PUBLIC TRUST

Fund details

Asset liquidity ratio

100.00%

Asset liquidity ratio

This is the minimum cash available to a fund. It shows how much of the fund is in cash, or can readily be turned into cash, to operate and meet current or future obligations, including investors redeeming units (formula: liquid assets divided by fund assets).

Total value of fund

$19,380,462.00

Total value of fund

This is the total value of assets that this fund holds, and is updated quarterly by the fund managers.

Debt ratio

0.02%

Debt ratio

This is the proportion of a company's assets that is financed by debt (formula: total liabilities divided by total assets). The higher the debt ratio is, the greater the financial risk. A debt ratio greater than 100%, for example, would mean that the company has more debt than assets.

Continuous issue

Yes

Continuous issue

This fund is able to receive money and issue units at any time. The provider, in the ordinary course of its business, "continuously offers" units in the fund. (Units can also be redeemed fairly quickly.)

Default KiwiSaver

No

Default KiwiSaver

If you or your employer have not made an active choice of which KiwiSaver fund to be in, Inland Revenue puts you in a low-risk, conservative "default" fund run by one of nine government-appointed providers. It's meant to be temporary until you make a decision as to which fund suits you and your situation.

Lifecycle option

No

Lifecycle option

"Life-stage" or "lifecycle" funds adjust their investment mix over time. As a member gets older, the amount of riskier assets they hold is reduced, and the fund will change type – from growth to balanced to conservative.

Multi-fund option

No

Multi-fund option

This means you have the ability as an investor to select from a range of funds. You can mix different funds, such as conservative or growth funds, and invest in the different kinds of assets they hold. However, many times there may be another fund entirely, such as a balanced fund, that already has the mix of growth and income assets you're looking for.

Schedule 1 exemption

No

Schedule 1 exemption

This investment offer has a Schedule 1 exemption, which means there is not as much required to be disclosed about it as others. There will be fewer documents to see. Here's more about Schedule 1.

FMA exemption

No

FMA exemption

Some funds are exempted from disclosure requirements, so certain information may not be available for these offers. Or the information provided might be in a different form, given the bespoke nature of the offer. Here's more on Financial Markets Authority exemptions.

Number of members

398

Reference numbers

Fund

FND1153: CASH FUND

View on Disclose Register

Offer

OFR10711: MAS KIWISAVER SCHEME

View on Disclose Register

Scheme

SCH10705: MAS KIWISAVER SCHEME

View on Disclose Register

Next Steps

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

This is a

defensive KiwiSaver fund

Compare with other defensive KiwiSaver funds

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.

MAS Kiwi Saver Scheme Product Disclosure Statement 1 April 2026.pdf

How this investment works, including about the provider, risks, costs and potential returns

PDF, 926.23 KB

Fund update (most recent)

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

MAS Kiwi Saver Scheme Cash Fund Fund Update 31 December 2025.pdf

The quarterly update published by the provider

PDF, 638.63 KB

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. mas.co.nz