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Sharesies Review NZ 2026 — Fees, Funds, Pros and Cons

Updated

Sharesies is New Zealand’s largest retail investing platform, part of a group with over 1,000,000 investors across New Zealand and Australia combined as of 2026. It launched in 2017 and removed minimum investment requirements, with investing done through a mobile app.

But accessible isn’t the same as cheap. Here’s a look at what Sharesies offers, what it costs, and its features and limitations.

At a glance

What it offers: Individual NZX, ASX, and US shares plus some funds in one mobile app, from $1. Limitations: For managed fund investing, InvestNow's Foundation Series costs less. For frequent small trades, the 1.9% per-trade brokerage fee adds up faster than on a flat-fee or no-fee platform.

Sharesies at a Glance
Founded 2017 (Wellington, NZ)
Members 1,000,000+ investors (NZ and Australia combined, 2026)
FMA licensed ✅ Yes
Platform fee $0 ongoing (optional $3/$7/$15 monthly plans with a covered trading allowance)
Transaction fee 1.9% per trade, capped at $25 NZD (NZX), $15 AUD (ASX), $5 USD (US)
FX fee 0.5% on currency conversion
Minimum investment $1
Auto-invest ✅ Yes — from $1/week
Individual NZX shares ✅ Yes
Individual ASX shares ✅ Yes
US shares ✅ Yes (3,000+ companies)
Managed funds ✅ 29 managed funds (as at October 2026), plus 4,500+ ETFs
KiwiSaver ❌ No

Fees in Detail

No ongoing platform fee

Sharesies no longer charges an ongoing percentage-of-portfolio platform fee (this replaced an older 0.50% p.a. model). Instead, you pay a per-trade brokerage fee with per-market caps, described below.

Transaction (brokerage) fees

Every time you buy or sell, a brokerage fee of 1.9% of the trade value applies, capped per market:

Market Brokerage Cap
NZX (NZ shares) 1.9% of trade value Capped at $25 NZD (orders above ~$1,316)
ASX (Australian shares) 1.9% of trade value Capped at $15 AUD (orders above ~$805)
US shares 1.9% of trade value Capped at $5 USD (orders above ~$264)

For a $1,000 NZX trade: $19 fee. For a $10,000 NZX trade: $25 (the cap). For a $100 US trade: $1.90.

Optional monthly plans: $3, $7, or $15 per month give you a covered monthly trading allowance (e.g. the $3 plan covers $500 NZD of buy/sell orders and $1,000 NZD of auto-invest per month) and reduced brokerage beyond that — worthwhile if you trade often or in larger amounts.

FX fee

When converting NZD to USD (or AUD) for overseas shares, Sharesies adds a 0.5% FX fee on top of the market exchange rate. This applies each time you buy and sell overseas shares.

On a $5,000 US purchase: $25 FX fee on the way in, $25 on the way out — $50 total for a round trip.

Fund-specific fees

For the funds and portfolios available inside Sharesies (e.g. Sharesies-curated ETF portfolios), the underlying fund management fee applies on top of the brokerage fee you pay to buy in. Always check the fund’s PDS for the total cost.

What You Can Invest In

NZX shares

All companies listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange, including the NZX 50 index companies (Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Meridian, Contact Energy, etc.) and smaller companies. Fractional shares are available, so you can buy $50 of a $12 share.

ASX shares

Major Australian listed companies and ETFs. Useful for accessing ASX-listed Vanguard ETFs (e.g. VAS, VGS) — though the FX conversion and per-trade brokerage make InvestNow’s Foundation Series cheaper for index fund exposure.

US shares

Over 3,000 US-listed companies and ETFs. Examples include Apple, Tesla, Nvidia, S&P 500 ETFs (SPY, VOO), and Nasdaq ETFs (QQQ). Sharesies holds US securities through DriveWealth, a US broker with SIPC protection.

Funds and portfolios

Sharesies offers 29 managed funds from NZ providers such as Pathfinder, Pie Funds and Milford (as at October 2026), alongside 4,500+ ETFs listed in NZ (including Smart, formerly Smartshares), the US and Australia. Its managed fund selection is narrower than InvestNow’s: if you want a broad range of NZ managed funds (InvestNow’s own Foundation Series, Harbour and others), InvestNow has a significantly larger fund universe.

Sharesies App and User Experience

The app is central to how Sharesies works. Key features:

  • Auto-invest: Set weekly, fortnightly, or monthly automatic contributions into any share or fund
  • Round-ups: Connect a bank account and round up purchases to the nearest dollar, investing the difference
  • Watchlists and portfolio views: Portfolio dashboard with performance tracking
  • Kids accounts: Sharesies offers custodial accounts for children, managed by a parent

The desktop platform (web) has performance history, dividend tracking, and research tools.

Tax Handling

Sharesies issues a tax summary at the end of each year showing:

  • Dividends received
  • FX gains/losses
  • Transaction history

For PIE funds held through Sharesies, tax is handled at your PIR rate. For NZ and AU shares, you pay tax on dividends at your marginal rate (Sharesies withholds RWT for NZ dividends). For US shares, the US government withholds 15% withholding tax on dividends under the NZ-US tax treaty — you can claim a foreign tax credit for this.

Sharesies does not generate FIF reports. If your overseas shareholdings exceed $50,000 cost price, you will need to calculate FIF yourself (or use Sharesight). See FIF Tax NZ.

PIR Rate: Make sure your PIR is set correctly in your Sharesies account settings if you hold PIE funds.

Features and Limitations

Features:

  • Individual NZX, ASX, and US company shares in one account
  • Company profiles and market information in the app
  • A $1 minimum
  • Brokerage capped per order ($25 NZD / $15 AUD / $5 USD)
  • Accounts can be set up for children

Limitations:

  • For index funds, InvestNow’s Foundation Series costs significantly less
  • 1.9% brokerage on a $100 order is a much higher effective rate than on a large order that hits the cap
  • For frequent traders, 1.9% brokerage per NZX trade (capped at $25) adds up faster than Tiger Brokers’ 0.1%

Sharesies vs Alternatives

Sharesies InvestNow Kernel
Platform fee $0 ongoing (1.9% per-trade brokerage, capped) $0 $0
Individual shares ✅ NZX/ASX/US ❌ ❌
Managed funds 29 managed funds, plus 4,500+ ETFs 100+ funds Kernel funds only (28)
No brokerage on index fund purchases ❌ ✅ ✅
US shares ✅ ❌ ❌

Full comparison: Sharesies vs InvestNow · Sharesies vs Kernel

Is Sharesies Safe?

Sharesies is FMA-licensed. Client investments are held through Sharesies Nominee Ltd — a separate legal entity — which means your shares are ring-fenced from Sharesies Ltd’s business assets if the company faced financial difficulty. US shares are held through DriveWealth with SIPC protection up to USD$500,000.

See What Happens If an Investment Platform Goes Bust NZ? for a full explanation of investor protections.

Summary

Sharesies is NZ’s most widely used retail platform, with a $1 minimum and access to individual NZX, ASX, and US companies in one app. The 1.9% per-trade brokerage (even though capped) and the FX fee on overseas shares make it more expensive than InvestNow or Kernel for regular index fund contributions, and the effective rate is highest on many small orders. Which matters more depends on whether you want individual companies or regular fund contributions.

Where to check the latest data

Rates, fees and returns change often. Before deciding, check current figures yourself:

  • Sorted Smart Investor: compares fees, returns and risk levels of KiwiSaver and managed funds.
  • Disclose register: holds each fund's product disclosure statement and quarterly fund updates.
  • Financial Service Providers Register: shows whether a provider is registered to offer financial services in New Zealand.
  • The provider's own website: has its current rates, fees and full terms; these change more often than any comparison page.

Next Steps