13th April 2018.

According to Sam Stubbs, KiwiSaver is the rising tide of our economy with $50 billion currently invested. It is a huge and growing sector of our GDP and a lot of this money is being invested locally supporting NZ businesses and employment which augers well for the future economy of the country.

This was the message delivered by Sam when he spoke to a large turnout of people at Business on Toast at Corelli’s Café on Friday 13th April. Listeners not only got a delicious and bountiful breakfast but also got to learn more about KiwiSaver.

Many KiwiSaver investors do not understand how much they are paying in fees but this will change as from 2018 all KiwiSaver annual member statements will need to show the total amount of fees charged in dollar terms. This will enable New Zealanders to make better decisions about their KiwiSaver.

Simplicity is setting the standard by charging 0.3% compared to 1% by the average fund manager. This is lucrative for many providers especially for banks in NZ as most this profit goes back to the parent banks in Australia rather than remain within the NZ economy.

Simplicity is set up as a charity and donated 15% of management fees paid by members to charities which, last year amounted to one hundred and eighty thousand dollars.  All Simplicity funds exclude investments in nuclear weapons, tobacco, cluster munitions and landmines.

Sam’s closing words of advice were:

• Pay off the mortgage as quickly as possible
• Use a debit card instead of a credit card
• Save $5 a day

Business on Toast is a breakfast meeting with a speaker for people living or working in and around Devonport. It is hosted by Devonport Rotary and the Devonport Business Association. If you would like to be notified of these meetings please contact info@devonportrotary.co.nz