Arotahi KiwiSaver Scheme Review

Arotahi KiwiSaver Scheme Review

Arotahi runs 1 KiwiSaver fund open to new members. At 31 March 2026 it held $19.8 million for 728 investors. There is one fund to consider, and no decision to make about how to split your savings.

The BCF KiwiSaver Scheme is the only fund in this scheme. It charges 0.77 per cent a year. Its five-year return is 2.46 per cent a year.

This fund returned 2.46 per cent a year over the past five years.

This review does three things. It sets out what the scheme actually contains. It puts every fund’s fee, risk indicator and return in one place, taken from the Government’s register. And it answers the question that matters most — whether what you get is worth what you pay.

How We Researched This Guide

Every number below is read from our own copy of the Government’s Disclose Register, which is the statutory source managers file against. It carries one open fund, reported as at 31 March 2026.

We also checked the rules that sit behind every KiwiSaver account — contribution rates, the government contribution and default provider appointments — against Inland Revenue and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Nothing here is a recommendation to switch. It is the evidence you would want in front of you before deciding whether to, gathered in one place.

The Quick Summary (60-Second Version)

Here is the short version before the detail.

• Arotahi offers one open fund across a single scheme.
• It charges 0.77 per cent a year.
• It returned 2.46 per cent a year over the past five years.
• It holds $19.8 million for 728 investors.

What You Pay, and What You Get For It

Arotahi charges an annual fund charge, and there are no separate membership, contribution, establishment, switching or termination fees recorded for its KiwiSaver scheme. The charge comes out of the fund’s returns rather than being billed to you, which is why most members never see it leave the account.

It helps to see the charge in dollars. On a $50,000 balance, 0.77 per cent is about $385 a year; on $100,000 it is about $770.

What the Charge Costs at Different Balances

A fund charge is a percentage of your balance, so the dollar figure moves as your savings grow. The BCF KiwiSaver Scheme is the only fund in this scheme. It charges 0.77 per cent a year. Its five-year return is 2.46 per cent a year. That is the certain part of the equation: the fee is charged whether the fund rises or falls.

The real effect of a fee is not the one-year figure but what it removes from a balance that would otherwise have compounded for decades. Small percentage differences add up to large sums over forty years of contributions.

BCF KiwiSaver Scheme — the funds

The BCF KiwiSaver Scheme is the only fund in this scheme. The BCF KiwiSaver Scheme is the only fund in this scheme. It charges 0.77 per cent a year. Its five-year return is 2.46 per cent a year. This fund returned 2.46 per cent a year over the past five years.

What the Fund Actually Holds

Alongside the fee, the register discloses what share of the fund sits in growth assets — shares and property — and what share sits in income assets such as bonds and cash. That split explains more about a fund’s behaviour than its name does.

A fund this heavily weighted to income assets behaves more like a savings account than a share portfolio. It should hold its value in a bad market and not grow much in a good one.

Because there is only one fund here, you cannot dial that split up or down within the scheme. What you see is what you get, and if it does not match your horizon, the answer is a different scheme rather than a different fund.

A Small Range, and What That Means

A scheme with one open fund leaves you with very little to choose from, and that cuts both ways. There is no chance of picking the wrong option, no fund you will never look at again, and no need to rebalance a split across several funds. The structure does the work for you.

The cost is that you cannot adjust the risk to your own circumstances. Most schemes with a wide range let a member in their twenties hold something different from a member in their sixties. Here, everyone in a given fund is in the same place, so the fund has to be right for your horizon rather than tailored to it. If you are in the accumulation years, that usually means the growth option; if you are close to using the money, it usually means the conservative one.

Reading the Returns

The returns in every table are net of the fund charge and after tax, which is the figure that matters to a member. This fund returned 2.46 per cent a year over the past five years.

Read the one-year and five-year columns together rather than separately. One-year figures across these funds span 2.73 to 2.73 per cent, and five-year averages 2.46 to 2.46 per cent. A single year reflects twelve months of market conditions, while a five-year average is much harder to flatter and is the fairer basis for comparing the fund with any other.

The lesson in that gap is worth carrying into any fund choice: judge on the longest period available, and treat a short history as a reason for caution rather than a virtue.

The table below sets out every figure the register holds for each open fund, over each period it publishes. The longer columns are the ones that matter most, because they are the hardest to produce by luck.

Where Arotahi Sits Against the Alternatives

On entry cost, Arotahi is the 25th cheapest of the 29 managers in our KiwiSaver table, with its cheapest fund charging 0.77 per cent. The cheapest manager charges 0.03 per cent and the dearest starts at 4.26 per cent.

Cost is only one side of the ledger. The other is whether the return justifies it, which is what the five-year column is for. Neither number is predictive on its own, and a stretch that suits shares will always make the share-heavy funds look better than they are.

What You Put In, and What You Get Back

The contribution rules are set by the Government and apply to whoever manages your money, so they are the same here as anywhere else. What changes between schemes is what happens to the money once it arrives, which is why the charge matters more as the balance grows.

The default employee and employer rate is 3.5 per cent from 1 April 2026, and it rises to 4 per cent on 1 April 2028. On a $70,000 salary, 3.5 per cent is $2,450 a year from you, matched by your employer, so about $4,900 a year goes into the account before any return.

The Government adds 25 cents for every dollar you contribute, up to a maximum of $260.72 a year. To receive the full amount, you must contribute at least $1,042.86 of your own money between 1 July and 30 June, and employer contributions do not count towards that threshold. If your taxable income is above $180,000 a year, you do not qualify.

Once the money is in, the fund charge applies to the whole balance rather than to each contribution. On a $50,000 balance, 0.77 per cent is about $385 a year; on $100,000 it is about $770. That is the number worth weighing against the returns, because it is charged whether the fund rises or falls.

Questions You Might Have

Which fund am I in?

Your KiwiSaver statement, or the online account you use to manage your savings, will show which fund your money is invested in and how it is split if you hold more than one. Check it before anything else, because the fund decides both the return and the charge.

How much will I pay?

The BCF KiwiSaver Scheme is the only fund in this scheme. It charges 0.77 per cent a year. Its five-year return is 2.46 per cent a year. It comes out of the fund’s returns, not your bank account, so you will not see a separate bill.

Is Arotahi a default provider?

No. The appointed default providers are BNZ, Booster, Westpac (through BT Funds Management), Fisher Funds, Simplicity and Smartshares, with appointments running to December 2028. Arotahi is a scheme you choose deliberately.

Can I change funds without changing provider?

Usually yes. Most schemes let you move between their own funds, or set a different split, through your online account at no cost, and the change takes effect without affecting your membership or your employer contributions. You only need to switch provider if the scheme itself is the problem.

What happens to a closed fund?

If you already hold a fund that has closed to new members, you keep it and continue to pay the charge shown. Closing a fund stops new money coming in; it does not force existing members out, and it does not change your balance.

How much do I need to contribute to get the full government contribution?

You need to put in at least $1,042.86 of your own money between 1 July and 30 June to receive the maximum of $260.72. The government adds 25 cents for every dollar you contribute, and employer contributions do not count towards your $1,042.86. If your taxable income is above $180,000 a year, you do not qualify.

How much will I pay at the default contribution rate?

The default employee and employer rate rose from 3 per cent to 3.5 per cent on 1 April 2026, and it rises again to 4 per cent on 1 April 2028. On a $70,000 salary, 3.5 per cent is $2,450 a year from you, matched by your employer. You can choose 4, 6, 8 or 10 per cent instead.

Does switching to or from Arotahi cost anything?

No. Arotahi records no membership, contribution, establishment, switching or termination fees, and switching between KiwiSaver providers does not attract a fee in practice. You apply to the new provider, who arranges the transfer.

What Matters Most

Arotahi offers a single fund and nothing else, so there is no split to manage and no fund to choose between. Its charge is shown in the fee table above.

• The BCF KiwiSaver Scheme charges 0.77 per cent a year.
• Its five-year return is 2.46 per cent a year, and it carries the risk that produced it.
• Check which fund you are in before anything else, because it decides both the return and the charge.