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Cheapest vs Highest-Returning KiwiSaver Funds NZ: Fees vs Returns

Updated

Do low-fee KiwiSaver funds end up ahead of higher-fee funds once fees are taken out? This page sets the growth fund fees and 5-year after-fee returns of the providers most often compared side by side, using Sorted Smart Investor data rather than reputation. It is one of our KiwiSaver head-to-head comparisons.

The Core Tension

The fee side: Fees compound just like returns do. A 1% annual fee on $100,000 costs $1,000 in year one, and the drag compounds over decades. Passive index funds (like Simplicity at 0.23%) aim for near-market returns minus a small fee.

The performance side: An active fund ends up ahead of an index fund only if its return before fees beats the index by more than the extra fee. Over the 5 years to 30 June 2026, Generate’s Focused Growth fund (which Sorted classes as aggressive rather than growth) did that against every other fund in the table below.

Which specific managers have cleared that bar is a matter of current data, not brand size or media coverage.

The Data: Fees vs Returns in NZ KiwiSaver

Figures below are after-fee, after-tax annualised returns for each provider’s growth fund, for the 5 years to 30 June 2026, sourced directly from each fund’s page on Sorted Smart Investor (the fund comparison tool run by the Office of the Retirement Commissioner). Ordered by return.

Growth fund comparison (5-year after-fee, after-tax returns, to 30 June 2026):

Provider Fee 5-yr return (after fees and tax) Fee vs Simplicity
Generate (Focused Growth; Sorted classes it as aggressive) ~1.25% 8.03% +1.02 pts
Simplicity 0.23% 7.23% Baseline
ASB ~0.70% 7.15% +0.47 pts
BNZ ~0.45% 6.81% +0.22 pts
Milford ~1.05% base fee + any performance fee 6.60% +0.82 pts (base fee)
Westpac ~0.55% 6.29% +0.32 pts
Booster ~1.24% 5.36% +1.01 pts
ANZ ~0.95% 5.29% +0.72 pts

Booster is its Growth Fund (total fund charges 1.24% in its June 2026 fund update); Booster’s High Growth Fund, which Sorted classes as aggressive, returned 6.65% at about 1.34%. ANZ’s fee is its Growth Fund’s total fund charges in its June 2026 fund update. Milford estimates its Active Growth fund’s total charges at about 1.44% once performance fees are counted. Flat member fees ($36 a year at Generate and Booster) are not included in the fee column.

Fisher Funds is shown separately because its members have been in different schemes. The Fisher Funds KiwiSaver Plan (the former Kiwi Wealth scheme) Growth Fund returned 4.46% a year over the 5 years to 30 June 2026, with total fund charges expected to be 1.13% for the year to 31 March 2027. The original Fisher Funds KiwiSaver Scheme’s Growth Fund returned 3.92% over the same 5 years (fund charges 1.09% in the year to 31 March 2026); its members were due to move into the Plan by 6 October 2026. Fisher Funds TWO, the former Tower KiwiSaver Scheme, was merged into the Plan in June 2026. Check your specific scheme on Sorted before comparing.

$100,000 over 10 years if each 5-year return repeated (fees are already netted out of the returns; past returns don’t predict future ones):

Provider 10-year projection Difference vs Simplicity
Generate at 8.03% ~$216,500 +$15,500
Simplicity at 7.23% ~$201,000 Baseline
ASB at 7.15% ~$199,500 -$1,500
BNZ at 6.81% ~$193,250 -$7,750
Milford at 6.60% ~$189,500 -$11,500
Westpac at 6.29% ~$184,000 -$17,000
Booster at 5.36% ~$168,550 -$32,450
ANZ at 5.29% ~$167,450 -$33,550

Over this window:

  1. Generate returned more than Simplicity after fees, while charging more than five times Simplicity’s fee
  2. Milford, Booster, Westpac and ANZ returned less than Simplicity after fees, Milford included, despite its reputation as an active manager
  3. Fee and return don’t line up neatly: Booster (~1.24%) and Generate (~1.25%) have similar fees and returns 2.67 points apart; Westpac (~0.55%) has a lower fee than ASB (~0.70%) and a lower return

This order moves. Six months of strong or weak relative performance can reorder the table, so re-check Sorted rather than relying on this snapshot.

Active vs Passive: the Wider Evidence

International studies such as S&P’s SPIVA reports have found that most actively managed funds trail their index after fees over long periods; of the providers above, only Generate’s Focused Growth fund returned more than Simplicity’s Growth fund after fees over these 5 years. The research and how index funds work are covered in our passive index KiwiSaver funds guide.

What the Data Shows

Where the low-fee fund came out ahead: Simplicity’s growth fund returned more after fees than Milford, Booster, Westpac and ANZ over the 5 years to 30 June 2026. In those cases the active managers’ returns before fees didn’t cover the extra fee.

Where a higher-fee fund came out ahead: Generate’s ~1.02 percentage point fee premium over Simplicity was outweighed by a ~0.8 percentage point after-fee return premium over this period. Its lead depends on that outperformance continuing.

Balance and horizon change the dollar size, not the percentages:

  • On a $10,000 balance, a 0.75-point fee gap is about $75 a year; on $100,000 it is $750
  • The longer money stays invested, the more a fee gap compounds
  • Fund type (growth, balanced, conservative) usually moves returns more than the choice between providers in the same category; see our fund type by age guide

Where to check current figures: 5-year after-fee data is on Sorted Smart Investor; a provider’s own marketing page or a 1-year return gives a narrower view. Fees side by side are in our KiwiSaver fees comparison, and longer return tables in KiwiSaver fund returns.

Summary

On 5-year after-fee growth-fund data to 30 June 2026:

  • Generate’s Focused Growth fund (which Sorted classes as aggressive) had the highest return after fees and tax in this table (8.03%) at one of the highest fees (~1.25%)
  • Simplicity (0.23%) had a higher after-fee return than Milford, Booster, Westpac and ANZ
  • On $100,000 over 10 years at these rates, Generate is about $15,500 ahead of Simplicity, and Simplicity about $11,500 ahead of Milford

Neither the lowest fee nor the highest past return has been ahead in every period, and a manager’s reputation can lag its numbers.

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.
  • The provider's latest fund update: gives the fund's current fees, returns and holdings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Has the cheapest KiwiSaver growth fund also had the highest return? Not quite. Over the 5 years to 30 June 2026, Simplicity’s growth fund (0.23%) returned more after fees and tax than the Milford, Booster, Westpac and ANZ growth funds in this table, while Generate’s Focused Growth fund returned more than Simplicity despite a much higher fee.

When has paying more for an active manager paid off? When the manager’s after-fee return beat a low-fee alternative over the period checked. In this data, Generate’s Focused Growth fund did against Simplicity’s Growth fund; Milford, ANZ, Westpac and Booster did not, despite Milford’s long-term reputation.

How often do fee and performance figures change? Providers publish fund updates quarterly, and the order in tables like this one shifts over time (as this page’s own history shows), so cross-check current figures at Sorted Smart Investor rather than relying on an older comparison article, including this one.

Does the fee difference matter less with a small balance? In dollars, yes: on a $10,000 balance, the annual fee difference between Simplicity (0.23%) and ANZ (~0.95%) is about $72. The gap grows in dollar terms as the balance grows. Over the 5 years to 30 June 2026 Simplicity’s growth fund also returned more than ANZ’s after fees.