kōura Client Stories

This month we spoke with kōura client, Ana. She told us how her relationship with her financial adviser changed the way she thought about KiwiSaver. 

Now that she is a kōura member she takes an active interest in her retirement savings, and loves the way kōura is not afraid to embrace new technology.

Read on to find out more: 

Life before kōura:

Before Ana joined kōura wealth, KiwiSaver was at the bottom of her priority list.

As an active investor with a broad portfolio including Real Estate and shares, KiwiSaver was the “last thing” she thought about when it came to her retirement savings.

But when her financial adviser, Julia Kuiper from Broker Intel, spoke to her about the suite of funds offered by kōura, she could immediately see the value in the offering.

“When I saw the opportunity to take a more active role in managing my own portfolio, I absolutely loved it. It made me think more seriously about my KiwiSaver,” she said.

The conversation was not the first time she had heard of kōura, as she often tuned in to kōura’s weekly News of the Money World podcast.

But that conversation with her adviser was the first time she had considered the range of funds offered by kōura and the flexibility afforded by its digital advice and portfolio building platform.

It completely changed the way she thought about her KiwiSaver, she said.

What kōura offers:

As an independent contractor, Ana was happy to leave her retirement savings in a default fund and only saved the bare minimum to get the yearly Government contribution.

But after looking at kōura wealth, Ana immediately connected with the idea of a customizable portfolio, and the different assets on offer.

“Seeing kōura launch its specialty funds in clean energy, and cryptocurrency showed me it is a business that is evolving fast and is not afraid to embrace new technologies.

“It has encouraged me to take my KiwiSaver more seriously and even contribute more to my retirement savings,” she said.

But Ana couldn’t have made the switch without her financial adviser, who made all the difference, she said.

Ana had worked with mortgage adviser Julia Kuiper since 2020 and in that time had developed a close relationship, she said.

“I simply just trust her. She knows my needs perfectly and she is an excellent adviser.”

How kōura works for advisers:

Mortgage adviser Julia Kuiper says while most of her clients have not considered KiwiSaver as part of the mortgage process, it is an important part of a person’s financial health.

Many mortgage clients can feel uneasy about their financial future after taking on a large amount of debt, she said.

But knowing you are with the right KiwiSaver puts you on the path to a better financial future.

Because of this, KiwiSaver is “very aligned” to the goals of a mortgage adviser, she said.

“When people take out a mortgage they can feel bereft under the pressure of a huge loan. But talking to them about how a KiwiSaver will build up their financial position over time goes a long way to soothing the pain,” Julia said.

While KiwiSaver can be a difficult conversation, the kōura facilitator model makes it very easy for both the client and the adviser, she said.

“My clients like the flexibility of kōura. They can change their portfolio to suit them and their needs and they like that their savings are not in some rigid allocation like many other funds,” she said.

Having the option to walk the client through the investment portal herself, or asking a member of the kōura team to contact her client and help them build a portfolio makes the kōura system simple and easy.

“Being in the right KiwiSaver fund is very important, but the kōura process makes getting that result for your client very easy,” she said.