Performance rankings change from one period to the next, and a manager’s reputation can lag the numbers. This article uses returns pulled directly from each fund’s own page on Sorted Smart Investor rather than relying on which manager has historically been described as “the top performer.” It is one of our KiwiSaver performance guides.
Key principle: Use 5-year after-fee returns as your primary comparison metric, from a live source — not from an older article (including previous versions of this one) that may be citing a ranking that has since changed.
Why After-Fee Returns Over 5 Years Are the Right Metric
A 1-year return ranking tells you who got lucky (or unlucky) with timing in a 12-month window. A 5-year after-fee return tells you something more meaningful — how much money you’d actually have in your account relative to other options.
After-fee matters because:
- Fees are a guaranteed cost; returns are uncertain
- A 9.5% gross return with 1.2% fees = 8.3% net
- A 9.0% gross return with 0.23% fees = 8.77% net
- The “lower performing” fund actually delivers more money after fees
For a full explanation of how to read performance data — including the active vs passive debate, risk adjustment, and where to find verified data — see our KiwiSaver fund performance guide.
Growth Funds: 5-Year After-Fee Returns
Listed by stated 5-year return, highest first; the fund without a 5-year figure follows. Source: each fund’s own current disclosure page on Sorted Smart Investor, 5 years after fees and tax at 28% PIR. Dates vary slightly by fund because that’s what each fund’s own disclosure currently reports. Past performance is not indicative of future returns, and this order can and has changed.
| Fund | Provider | 5-yr annual return (after fees) | As of | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Focused Growth (Sorted classes it as aggressive) | Generate | 8.03% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~1.25% + $36/yr |
| Growth | Simplicity | 7.23% | 30 Jun 2026 | 0.23% |
| Growth | ASB | 7.15% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~0.70% |
| Growth | BNZ | 6.81% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~0.45% |
| Growth | SuperLife (Smart) | 6.74% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~0.61% + $30/yr |
| High Growth (Sorted classes it as aggressive) | Booster | 6.65% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~1.34% + $36/yr |
| Active Growth | Milford | 6.60% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~1.05% base fee + any performance fee |
| Growth | Pathfinder | 6.44% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~1.35% + $27/yr |
| Growth | Westpac | 6.29% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~0.55% |
| Growth | Booster | 5.36% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~1.24% + $36/yr |
| Growth | ANZ (OneAnswer) | 5.29% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~0.95% |
| Growth (Fisher Funds KiwiSaver Plan, ex-Kiwi Wealth) | Fisher Funds | 4.46% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~1.13% |
| Growth Fund (original Fisher Funds KiwiSaver Scheme, members due to move into the Plan by 6 Oct 2026) | Fisher Funds | 3.92% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~1.09% |
| High Growth | Kernel | No 5-yr data — fund started April 2022 (1-yr to 30 Jun 2026: 15.79%) | 30 Jun 2026 | 0.25% |
Fisher Funds has consolidated its KiwiSaver schemes into the Fisher Funds KiwiSaver Plan, the former Kiwi Wealth scheme it acquired in 2022: Fisher Funds TWO (the former Tower KiwiSaver Scheme) moved its members into the Plan in June 2026, and the original Fisher Funds KiwiSaver Scheme’s members were due to move into it by 6 October 2026. The original scheme’s row shows its last published 5-year figure. Milford’s fee is its base fee; its fund update to 30 June 2026 estimates total Active Growth charges of 1.44% once performance fees are counted.
What the growth table shows
Fees and returns don’t line up neatly. Generate’s Focused Growth fund (which Sorted classes as aggressive) has the highest 5-year after-fee figure in this table (8.03%) with one of the higher fees (~1.25% plus a $36/year member fee), while Simplicity (0.23%), ASB (~0.70%) and BNZ (~0.45%) have the next-highest figures at lower fees.
Milford’s Active Growth fund (6.60%) sits seventh of the thirteen 5-year figures, behind Simplicity, ASB, BNZ, SuperLife and Booster as well as Generate. Its fees, funds and longer history are in the Milford KiwiSaver review.
Fisher Funds results differed by scheme. The Fisher Funds KiwiSaver Plan (former Kiwi Wealth) Growth Fund has a 5-year return of 4.46%; the original Fisher Funds KiwiSaver Scheme’s growth fund, whose members were due to move into the Plan by 6 October 2026, had 3.92%.
Kernel’s High Growth fund launched in 2022, so it has no 5-year figure yet and can’t be compared on this page’s main metric. How higher-risk fund types are built is in our aggressive KiwiSaver fund guide.
Balanced Funds: 5-Year After-Fee Returns
Source: Sorted Smart Investor, 5 years after fees and tax.
| Fund | Provider | 5-yr annual return (after fees) | As of | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balanced | ASB | 5.72% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~0.65% |
| Balanced | BNZ | 5.35% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~0.45% |
| Balanced | Simplicity | 5.28% | 30 Jun 2026 | 0.23% |
| Balanced | Milford | 5.04% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~1.05% base fee + any performance fee |
| Balanced | Booster | 4.18% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~1.19% + $36/yr |
| Balanced (Fisher Funds KiwiSaver Plan, ex-Kiwi Wealth) | Fisher Funds | 3.82% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~1.01% |
| Balanced | Generate | No 5-yr data (fund too new) | 30 Jun 2026 | ~1.22% + $36/yr |
ASB’s balanced fund has the highest 5-year after-fee figure in this table (5.72%), followed by BNZ (5.35%) and Simplicity (5.28%); Milford’s is 5.04%.
Conservative Funds: 5-Year After-Fee Returns
Source: Sorted Smart Investor, 5 years after fees and tax.
| Fund | Provider | 5-yr annual return (after fees) | As of | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | ASB | 3.05% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~0.40% |
| Conservative | Milford | 2.76% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~0.85% |
| Conservative | BNZ | 2.49% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~0.45% |
| Conservative (closed to new investment since 1 December 2021) | Booster | 2.48% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~0.38% |
| Conservative | Simplicity | 2.12% | 30 Jun 2026 | 0.23% |
| Conservative | ANZ (OneAnswer) | 1.90% | 30 Jun 2026 | ~0.60% |
Conservative fund returns are much lower than growth or balanced funds over this particular 5-year window. ASB has the highest figure in this table (3.05%), followed by Milford (2.76%).
1-Year Returns: A Snapshot Only, Not a Ranking
One-year returns are volatile and can shift the order from quarter to quarter, which is why this page uses 5-year data as its primary comparison. As examples of the kind of swings seen in the year to 30 June 2026 (source: each provider’s fund update, growth funds, after fees and tax): Generate returned 16.61%, Simplicity 16.36%, Pathfinder 12.95%, Milford 6.81% and the Fisher Funds KiwiSaver Plan 6.14%, a much wider spread, in a different order, than the 5-year table above. Kernel’s newer, more internationally-tilted High Growth fund returned 15.79% over the same single year. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance, and a longer window shows more than a single year’s rank. Why the 5-year window is used is explained in the KiwiSaver fund performance comparison.
Where to Find Official Performance Data
Verify current figures, or look up a fund not listed here, through:
- Sorted Smart Investor (smartinvestor.sorted.org.nz): each fund’s standardised after-fee, after-tax returns, on the same basis across providers
- Your provider’s fund updates, published quarterly on each provider’s website under “fund updates” or “fund performance”
- The FMA’s KiwiSaver annual report (fma.govt.nz): industry-wide data on the KiwiSaver market
- Morningstar: its quarterly KiwiSaver Survey, with fund returns over several periods up to 10 years
How to compare these figures fairly (same fund type, after fees, the 5-year window, tax and risk) is covered in the KiwiSaver fund performance comparison. Which fund type fits a time horizon is a separate question from returns: see KiwiSaver fund types explained. Year-by-year returns since 2008 are in KiwiSaver returns history.
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
Which KiwiSaver growth fund has the highest returns? Over the 5 years to 30 June 2026, Generate’s Focused Growth fund has the highest after-fee, after-tax figure among the funds in this page’s growth table (8.03%), followed by Simplicity (7.23%) and ASB (7.15%). The table is our own selection using figures from each fund’s Sorted Smart Investor page, not a Sorted ranking, and Sorted files Focused Growth under aggressive funds. Rankings change, so re-check current data.
How often are KiwiSaver performance rankings updated? Fund updates are published quarterly by each provider and reflected on Sorted Smart Investor. Morningstar also publishes a quarterly KiwiSaver Survey of fund returns. Performance rankings can shift from year to year, and past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
What to Read Next
- KiwiSaver Fund Performance Comparison: how to read performance data
- KiwiSaver Returns History: market events since 2007 and where to find annual returns
- Worst Performing KiwiSaver Funds: the lowest after-fee returns by fund type
- KiwiSaver Fee Comparison: pair performance with cost data
- Simplicity vs Milford KiwiSaver: passive and active side by side
- Compare KiwiSaver Providers: fees, returns and features