KiwiSaver performance data is everywhere: annual returns, 5-year returns, awards, rankings. This guide is about method: how to compare KiwiSaver fund performance fairly, which metrics matter, and where to find standardised data. It is one of our KiwiSaver performance guides. For the current return tables by fund type and provider, see KiwiSaver fund returns.
Why Performance Comparisons Are Harder Than They Look
Fund types aren’t comparable
A conservative fund returning 4% and a growth fund returning 10% in the same year doesn’t mean the growth fund is “better.” The growth fund holds more equities, so more risk, and in a down year it will fall further. Always compare like for like: growth vs growth, balanced vs balanced.
One year tells you little
A single year of returns is mostly noise. Twelve months is too short a period to separate skill from luck in active management.
Minimum meaningful comparison period: 5 years. Ideally 10 years.
Gross vs net returns
Some providers report gross returns (before fees); others report net returns (after fees). Always compare after-fee returns. A fund that earns 8.5% gross but charges 1.2% in fees delivers 7.3% to you. A fund earning 8.0% gross with 0.23% fees delivers 7.77%, more despite the lower headline figure.
Survivorship bias
Some funds are merged or closed when performance is poor. Historical comparisons that only include funds still in existence tend to overstate the performance of the category.
Why the 5-Year Window Is Used
Sorted and most fund comparisons put the 5-year return first for a reason:
| Comparison period | Limitation |
|---|---|
| 1 year | Too short: dominated by recent market events (a 2022-style selloff or 2023-style recovery distorts the comparison) |
| 3 years | Better, but still noisy and may not capture a full cycle |
| 5 years | Includes at least one meaningful market event; recent enough to reflect current strategy and fees |
| 10 years | More data, but may reflect outdated fee structures and investment strategies |
| Since inception | Hard to compare across funds with different start dates; complicated by changing strategy |
What 5-year returns tell you: whether a fund delivered competitive returns through a real market cycle, whether active management (if any) added value against peers, and whether fees are taking a disproportionate share of returns.
What they don’t tell you: future performance, whether the fund’s strategy is changing, or whether the manager who drove past performance is still there.
Tax (PIR): Sorted Smart Investor’s standardised returns are after fees and after tax at the top prescribed investor rate (28%). A member on a lower PIR pays less tax inside the fund, so their own return on the same fund can be slightly higher than the published figure; the ranking between funds of the same type is what the standardised figure lets you compare.
A fund that ranked first over the past 5 years may not rank first over the next 5: rankings rotate, so a 5-year return is a starting point for comparison, not a forecast.
Where to Find Reliable NZ KiwiSaver Performance Data
| Source | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Sorted Smart Investor | Each fund’s standardised after-fee, after-tax returns and fees |
| FMA KiwiSaver Annual Report | Industry-wide data on the KiwiSaver market |
| Morningstar NZ | Its quarterly KiwiSaver Survey of fund returns over several periods, up to 10 years |
| Provider fund updates | Each fund’s performance and fees (check whether figures are gross or net) |
Using Sorted to compare 5-year returns
- Go to Sorted Smart Investor and choose KiwiSaver funds
- Filter by fund type (for example, growth)
- Sort by 5-year return
- Cross-reference with the total annual fund charge (the all-in fee)
This shows how funds of the same type compare on the same standardised basis.
After-Fee Returns by Fund Type
Five-year after-fee returns to 30 June 2026 differ widely between providers within each fund type, and the spread is wider for growth funds than for conservative funds. The provider-by-provider tables, with each figure’s source and date, are in KiwiSaver fund returns.
How to Compare Performance Properly: A Step-by-Step Framework
Step 1: Filter to your fund type only
If you’re in a growth fund, compare growth funds only. Ignore balanced and conservative returns.
Step 2: Use the longest available after-fee return
5-year after-fee returns are the minimum meaningful comparison. If 10-year data is available, use it. For funds established more recently, 3 years is the floor, with appropriate caution.
Step 3: Adjust for risk
Two funds can have the same average return with very different volatility. Risk-adjusted measures such as the Sharpe ratio, published by fund researchers like Morningstar, help with this.
Step 4: Calculate the after-fee difference vs the lowest-fee option
If you’re comparing a higher-fee fund with the lowest-fee option of the same type, compare their after-fee returns over the same period. Fees by fund type are in the KiwiSaver fee comparison.
Example (5-year returns after fees and tax to 30 June 2026, source: Sorted Smart Investor and the providers’ fund updates):
| Fund | Fee | 5-yr return after fees and tax |
|---|---|---|
| Generate Focused Growth (Sorted classes it as aggressive) | ~1.25% (+ $36/yr member fee) | 8.03% |
| Simplicity Growth | 0.23% | 7.23% |
| Milford Active Growth | ~1.05% base fee + any performance fee (about 1.44% estimated in total) | 6.60% |
Over this period Generate’s return after fees and tax is above Simplicity’s despite the higher fee (though Focused Growth holds about 98% growth assets, per Generate’s PDS, so it is not a like-for-like growth fund), and Milford’s is below Simplicity’s. “Active manager” and “higher return after fees” are different claims, so check the current figures for the specific fund rather than a manager’s reputation.
Step 5: Consider consistency, not just the average
Check whether a fund’s relative performance held across several periods and market conditions, or rested on one or two standout years. A fund that returns 8%, 9%, 7%, 9% and 8% over five years has a similar average to one that returns 20%, 5%, 15%, 1% and 10%, but the first is less likely to have a sharp fall just before a planned withdrawal.
Active vs Passive Funds
Active funds (for example Fisher Funds, Generate and Milford) pay managers to try to beat the market; passive funds (for example Kernel, Simplicity and SuperLife’s index funds) track an index at lower cost. Whether an active fund has added value after fees is a question for each fund and period, answered with the 5-year after-fee figures above; how index funds work is covered in passive index KiwiSaver funds.
Recent Market Context
Five-year figures depend on the window. The one to 30 June 2026 starts in July 2021, and conservative funds’ 5-year returns in it are well below growth funds’ (see the tables in KiwiSaver fund returns). Year-by-year context is in KiwiSaver returns history.
Performance Red Flags: What to Watch Out For
1. Only advertising 1-year returns
A provider that features a 1-year return prominently while 5-year data is harder to find may be showing the more flattering number. Find the long-run figure.
2. Changing benchmark mid-stream
Some managers change their stated benchmark, making historical comparison difficult. Check that the benchmark has been consistent.
3. Awards from media or industry bodies
“KiwiSaver provider of the year” awards are usually based on criteria beyond raw performance (customer service, innovation and so on). They are not a performance measure.
4. Gross returns without fee disclosure
If a return is advertised without saying whether it is gross or after fees, check the fund update. After-fee is what you actually earn.
How to Check Your Current Fund’s Performance
- Log into your provider’s member portal: most show your personalised return (based on when you contributed, not just the fund’s overall return)
- Find the fund’s published after-fee returns in the “fund updates” section of your provider’s website (fund updates come out quarterly)
- Compare on Sorted Smart Investor against funds of the same type
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 funds have had the highest returns? Rankings change from period to period. The current 5-year after-fee figures by fund type and provider, with their source and date, are in KiwiSaver fund returns.
Does one poor year mean a fund is underperforming? Not on its own. Growth funds are expected to fall in some years during market downturns, so a single year says little about a fund compared with others of the same type; the 5-year after-fee figure is the more useful comparison.
How do I find the after-fee return for my KiwiSaver fund? Providers publish quarterly fund updates. Look for the figure labelled “Annual return (after deductions for charges and tax)”. Sorted Smart Investor also shows a five-year return after fees and tax for the KiwiSaver funds it lists, in a comparable format.
Does past performance predict future KiwiSaver performance? Weakly and inconsistently. Past performance is a poor predictor of future relative performance in managed funds, and outperformance by any one manager cannot be assumed to continue.
What is a “risk-adjusted return”? It adjusts a fund’s return for the volatility taken to achieve it. A fund that earned 9% with high volatility isn’t necessarily ahead of one earning 8% with low volatility on a risk-adjusted basis. The Sharpe ratio is a standard measure.
What to Read Next
- KiwiSaver Fund Returns NZ: return tables by fund type and provider
- KiwiSaver Returns History: market events since 2007 and where to find annual returns
- KiwiSaver Fee Comparison: fees to pair with performance data
- KiwiSaver Fund Types Explained: choosing a fund type
- Passive Index KiwiSaver Funds: how index funds work
- Switching KiwiSaver Providers: when and how to move