kōura was created to give Kiwis more money for their retirement or first home. We create a personalised portfolio for you that’s designed to work with your goals and risk appetite, ultimately optimising your KiwiSaver returns.
kōura was born out of frustration, the frustration that kiwis were not getting what they expected or deserved out of their KiwiSaver investments.
Digital advice is a very successful tool that was being used internationally to improve financial outcomes for people that had previously been unable to access quality advice. Digital advice did not exist here in New Zealand, and Kiwi's were missing out, so we created kōura.
After searching for a word that summed up what we’re all about, it’s fitting that we hit on gold. We aim to hand a hoard of it to every investor on their retirement day, and we fully plan on being the KiwiSaver gold standard scheme.
But this isn’t just any kind of gold we’re talking about here, it’s KiwiSaver gold. That’s why we looked for a uniquely New Zealand way to express this word. And what better way to demonstrate our proud Kiwi heritage than using Te Reo Māori?
So we named our company kōura. You may recognise kōura as a freshwater crayfish, but it also translates to gold and goal and has wider connotations of wealth and abundance – all cornerstones of our company.
Good retirements don’t just happen – they’re planned for and invested in. Putting a few things in place now and you will set yourself up for a lot of good times later.
But these decisions don’t have to be all-consuming, you just need a little bit of help. You can ask kōura.
kōura will plan it out for you and help you remain on track.
The kōura KiwiSaver scheme is made up of six investment funds. Each fund has been carefully selected so we can provide diverse, yet personalised portfolios for our investors.
Our international funds invest exclusively in global funds provided by one of the world’s largest fund managers. And we build our domestic funds in partnership with one of New Zealand’s largest wealth managers, Hobson Wealth Partners.
This approach gives you exposure to thousands of investments to make sure you have a properly diversified portfolio. This is the risk-spreading, maximum-gain-exposure approach that’s favoured by bigwig investors such as Warren Buffet and NZ Super – not a bad set of examples to follow!
NZ Equities Fund
US Equities Fund
Emerging Markets Equities Fund
Rest of World Equities Fund
Fixed Interest Fund
Cash Fund
With traditional KiwiSaver schemes, you invest and hope for the best. But kōura’s smart technology looks out for you – and the road ahead – throughout the life of your investment. If things change, we’ll recommend changes to your portfolio. No stagnation around here.
We’ve designed our simplified investment approach so we can offer low-cost fees to our investors. Our portfolios incur a management fee of 0.63% per annum.
We all know how important it is to start investing early. To make it that little bit easier, we don’t charge our administration fee to any members under the age of 18.
0.63%
AGE
25
SAVING FOR
First Home
SALARY
$55k
KIWISAVER BALANCE
$10k
Mia is a nurse in Dunedin. She’s been investing in her KiwiSaver plan since she started work. Since then, she’s been putting the maximum amount into her KiwiSaver account to allow her to purchase her first house. Her goal is to purchase her house in the next 2-3 years.
kōura has matched Mia with a Very Low-Risk Portfolio, made up of fixed income and cash assets. Any reduction in the value of her portfolio will materially reduce the house deposit that Mia can use. Mia’s portfolio needs to hold its value irrespective of what the market does.
Following this path, Mia's KiwiSaver account should give her a house deposit of $21,350 by the time she’s 28.
AGE
39
SAVING FOR
Retirement
SALARY
$190k
KIWISAVER BALANCE
$70k
Willow is an advertising executive in Auckland. She has recently returned to work after her second child and is now focusing on saving for her retirement. She is hoping that her KiwiSaver plan is only a part of her retirement savings, though is not yet sure whether that will be the case. She has decided that she wants to maximise the capital growth of her portfolio, rather than minimise volatility, so kōura has assessed her as having a high-risk appetite.
kōura has recommended a High Growth Portfolio for Willow, predominantly made up of growth assets. With 26 years up in her sleeve until retirement, she has lots of time to ride the ups and downs of the market. This approach will give her the biggest pot for her retirement.
As Willow nears retirement, we’ll modify her investment mix so that the focus moves toward protecting her capital rather than maximising the returns. Practically speaking, this means we’ll start to allocate more of her investment funds to lower risk income assets as she gets closer to retirement.
Following this path, Willow should have a KiwiSaver balance of $1,224,038 at 65.
AGE
35
SAVING FOR
Retirement
SALARY
$75k
KIWISAVER BALANCE
$5k
Andrew is an electrician in Christchurch. He’s recently purchased his first home and is now starting to think about his retirement.
kōura’s matched him to a High Growth Portfolio, predominantly made up of growth assets. This is because Andrew wants to prioritise capital growth over minimising volatility. With 30 years up in his sleeve until retirement he has lots of time to ride the ups and downs of the market. This approach will give him the biggest pot for his retirement.
As Andrew nears retirement, we’ll modify his investment mix so that we focus on protecting his capital rather than maximising the returns. Practically speaking, this means we’ll start to allocate more of his investment funds to lower risk income assets as he gets closer to retirement.
Following this path, Andrew should have a KiwiSaver balance of $426,000 at 65.
AGE
43
SAVING FOR
Retirement
SALARY
$90k
KIWISAVER BALANCE
$35k
Oscar is a police officer in Invercargill. He’s been investing in KiwiSaver since it started back in 2007. Oscar is hoping to retire at 65 and expects his KiwiSaver and police pension to fund his retirement. Oscar has asked to minimise volatility, he does not want to worry if the value of his KiwiSaver savings goes down. As a result of this and the importance of his KiwiSaver account to his retirement, kōura has assessed him as having a conservative risk appetite.
kōura has recommended a Balanced Portfolio for Oscar. This portfolio will deliver an appropriate balance of growth while protecting from significant ups and downs.
As Oscar gets older, we’ll modify his investment mix so that the focus is increasingly toward protecting his capital as he gets older. Practically speaking, this means we’ll be recommending that he adjust his investment mix every year to reduce the proportion of growth assets.
Following this path, Oscar should have a KiwiSaver balance of $371,346 at 65.
AGE
47
SAVING FOR
Retirement
SALARY
$175k
KIWISAVER BALANCE
$105k
Grace is a lawyer in Wellington who’s just received a shock when someone asked what her KiwiSaver savings were invested in. She’d always assumed she didn’t need to make any decisions and it would be taken care of for her.
Grace’s KiwiSaver account will make up a big chunk of her retirement savings, so she’s going to start upping her contributions to 8% to ensure she has sufficient funds to retire with. Grace has never invested in the share market before, and has asked us to minimise volatility at the expense of capital growth. As a result, kōura has assessed her as having a conservative risk appetite.
kōura has recommended a Balanced Portfolio for Grace. This will deliver an appropriate balance of growth while protecting her from significant ups and downs through to her retirement. We expect Grace to keep some of her KiwiSaver invested and she will slowly draw down on it for the rest of her life.
As Grace nears retirement, we’ll modify her investment mix so the focus is increasingly toward protecting her capital rather than maximising the returns. Practically speaking, this means we’ll be recommending she adjust her investment mix every year to reduce the proportion of growth assets.
Following this path, Grace should have a KiwiSaver balance of $601,105 at 65.
AGE
59
SAVING FOR
Retirement
SALARY
$120k
KIWISAVER BALANCE
$150k
Margot is an accountant in Napier. Margot has been contributing to her KiwiSaver account since it started, back in 2007. She’s expecting to retire in six years time, when she turns 65. Margot has a house which is now mortgage free, but she and her husband hope their KiwiSaver accounts will provide a significant amount of their income when they stop working.
kōura has matched Margot to a Low Risk Portfolio, made up primarily of fixed income assets. Margot ’s goal is to preserve capital, she needs to make sure the value of her assets does not dip too far because she’ll start drawing down on them in the next few years.
Following this path, Margot should have a KiwiSaver balance of $248,284 at 65.
AGE
59
SAVING FOR
Retirement
SALARY
$215k
KIWISAVER BALANCE
$130k
Jack is a senior executive for a large company in Christchurch. He has been investing in his KiwiSaver plan since it started back in 2007. He was invested in a growth fund up until December 2018, when a significant drop in the market caused him to move it all to a cash fund.
Jack is hoping to retire at 65, though he does not expect his KiwiSaver account to make up a significant part of his retirement. He has a number of rental properties as well as his KiwiSaver investment. Jack has asked us to maximise capital rather than minimise volatility. As a result, kōura has assessed him as having an aggressive risk appetite.
kōura has recommended a Balanced Portfolio for Jack. This portfolio will deliver an appropriate balance of growth while protecting from significant ups and downs. We have designed the portfolio to ensure the balance keeps on growing, we expect Jack to keep his balance invested (at least partially) through until he is 90.
As Jack gets older, we’ll modify his investment mix so that the focus is increasingly toward protecting his capital as he gets older. Practically speaking, this means we’ll be recommending that he adjust his investment mix every year to reduce the proportion of growth assets.
Following this path, Jack should have a KiwiSaver balance of $256,626 at 65.
AGE
30
SAVING FOR
First Home
SALARY
$110k
KIWISAVER BALANCE
$80k
Harry is a production manager in a food factory in Hamilton. He’s been working for 10 years and contributing to KiwiSaver the whole way through. He wants to use his KiwiSaver savings to purchase a house, though not for another four to five years. He’s also told us he wants to maximise returns, so he has a high-risk appetite.
kōura has matched Harry with a Balanced Portfolio, made up of fixed income and growth assets. Harry needs to strike a careful balance between maximising growth and protecting his capital. He’ll have a bit of time for his portfolio to recover if there’s a market downturn but is unlikely to see it through a full market cycle.
Following this path, Harry’s KiwiSaver plan should give him a house deposit of $109,872 by the time he’s 33.
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