Compulsory KiwiSaver not necessarily silver bullet

Making KiwiSaver a compulsory savings isn't the silver bullet to address New Zealand's dismal savings record, with the evidence across the Tasman unclear, according to the Savings Working Group.

There is potential for KiwiSaver to grow the retirement savings pool but it is unclear whether that has been the case so far according to industry experts.

Kiwibank has launched a KiwiSaver scheme which allows more direct control of funds by investors and aims to lead the market in terms of transparency and disclosure of fees.

KiwiSaver funds provided positive returns for the fourth straight quarter, though the growth is running out of steam and ongoing fears of a debt crisis in the euro zone may be partly to blame, according to Mercer (NZ) Limited.

KiwiSaver fund managers will become indirectly accountable to their investors, instead of being able to hide behind auditors, under changes announced last night by Commerce Minister Simon Power.

The Government Actuary (GA) has imposed tight controls on the Huljich KiwiSaver scheme and its trustee, Trustee Executors.

In the latest amendment to its prospectus Asteron has strongly signaled it may soon close its KiwiSaver fund.

Milford Asset Management is going it alone as a KiwiSaver provider, with its new scheme launched today.

The Investment Savings and Insurance Association (ISI) has put a proposed sector standard for measurement and disclosure of the investment performance of KiwiSaver funds up for tender in a bid to get greater buy-in from the wider industry.

Default KiwiSaver provider Mercer says there needs to be an improvement in disclosure requirements with KiwiSaver.