Evidential KiwiSaver Scheme Review

Evidential KiwiSaver Scheme Review

Evidential runs 3 KiwiSaver funds open to new members, all sitting at much the same risk level. At 30 June 2026 they held $37.4 million for 492 investors.

Charges across the open funds run from 0.70 per cent to 0.80 per cent.

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 three open funds, all reported as at 30 June 2026.

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

This guide is not here to tell you to switch or to stay. What it does is put the verified numbers in one place so you can compare on facts rather than marketing.

ValueHub's Trusted Providers

We've researched the providers below — here are our picks for this category.

Simplicity

★ 4.9 ★★★★★ (592 Reviews)

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Simplicity is a nonprofit KiwiSaver and investment fund manager charging 0.25% p.a. across all six KiwiSaver funds. 100% owned by the Simplicity Foundation, a registered charity. Over 190,000 members. Seven rounds of fee cuts since launch in 2016. 15% of management fees are donated to NZ charities. Founded by Sam Stubbs (ex-Tower Investments CEO, Goldman Sachs).

The Quick Summary (60-Second Version)

Here is the short version before the detail.

• Evidential offers three open funds across a single scheme.
• Annual fund charges range from 0.70 per cent to 0.80 per cent.
• The cheapest option is the Balanced Fund at 0.70 per cent.
• The largest fund by value is the High Growth Fund, with $19.7 million invested.
• The funds hold $37.4 million in total across 492 investors.
• Three of the open funds have no five-year figure yet because they have not been running that long.

What You Pay, and What You Get For It

Evidential 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, the lowest charge here, 0.70 per cent, is about $350 a year, and the highest, 0.80 per cent, is about $400. On $100,000, those figures double.

What the Charge Costs at Different Balances

Because the charge is a percentage, its cost rises with your balance. Below is what the cheapest, dearest and middling funds take on three balances. This much is guaranteed: the fee is charged in both a good year and a bad one.

Over a working life, the compounding of that difference is larger than most people expect, because the fee is taken every year from a balance that would otherwise be growing.

The Kinds of Fund in This Range

The register groups every fund by type, and the type tells you more about the risk than the name does. Evidential spans 3 of those groups, which determines how much choice you actually have.

The risk indicator runs from 1 to 7. It measures how much the fund’s value has moved in the past, not how good it is. A 6 or 7 is not a warning; it is a statement that the fund is expected to fall further in a bad year, and it belongs in a portfolio you will not need to touch for a long time.

Evidential KiwiSaver Scheme — the funds

Charges across the open funds run from 0.70 per cent to 0.80 per cent.

What the Funds Actually Hold

The register also discloses each fund’s split between growth assets, such as shares and property, and income assets, such as bonds and cash. More than the fund’s name, that ratio tells you how it will behave when markets move.

The spread runs from 60% growth assets in the Balanced Fund to 94% in the High Growth Fund. The conservative end will scarcely move in a poor year; the aggressive end will fall sharply with share markets and rebound just as sharply. Which suits you depends on when you need the money, not on which has performed better lately.

A Small Range, and What That Means

A scheme with three open funds 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.

Three of the open funds here have no five-year figure because they have not been running that long. We show a dash rather than a number that would not be comparable, so weigh those funds on their fee and strategy instead.

Where Evidential Sits Against the Alternatives

On entry cost, Evidential is the 23rd cheapest of the 29 managers in our KiwiSaver table, with its cheapest fund charging 0.70 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

What you contribute is a matter of law and your own choice, not of who your provider is. The provider’s influence begins once the money is in, which is why the fund charge grows in importance as the balance does.

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.

The charge applies to the entire balance, not to each deposit. On a $50,000 balance, the lowest charge here, 0.70 per cent, is about $350 a year, and the highest, 0.80 per cent, is about $400. On $100,000, those figures double. Weigh that against the returns, since it is deducted regardless of how the fund performs.

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?

Charges across the open funds run from 0.70 per cent to 0.80 per cent. It comes out of the fund’s returns, not your bank account, so you will not see a separate bill.

Is Evidential 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. Evidential 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 Evidential cost anything?

No. Evidential 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.

Why do some funds have no five-year figure?

Because they have not been running for five years. A fund launched in the last few years cannot have a five-year return, so the register leaves it blank rather than showing a figure that would not be comparable. We show the same dash.

What Matters Most

Evidential is a manager with a deliberately small range. The fee table above shows the current charges for each fund. The funds are few and easy to keep in mind.

• The Balanced Fund is the cheapest way in at 0.70 per cent.
• Three funds are too new to have a five-year record, so judge them on strategy and fee rather than past performance.
• Check which fund you are in before anything else, because it decides both the return and the charge.