KEY POINTS:
Market volatility is encouraging affluent investors to join up to KiwiSaver schemes, a new survey from KiwiSaver provider ING (NZ) shows.
Asked what their reasons were for joining KiwiSaver, 17 per cent cited market volatility as a key reason they had joined, or were intending to join, compared with 7 per cent the previous quarter, ING said today.
The latest survey, carried out in June, also found that 95 per cent of those who had joined KiwiSaver felt signing up was a good decision.
The 100 investors questioned for the survey were aged 30 or above, with disposable assets or investments of at least US$100,000 ($133,370).
ING (NZ) general manager of investor services Steven Giannoulis said investors seemed to be waking up to the benefits of including KiwiSaver as part of an investment portfolio.
The recent property boom may have drawn some of the focus away from traditional pension schemes as security for retirement, he said.
But investors now appeared to be looking to hold a more diversified investment portfolio, including either KiwiSaver or a different superannuation scheme.
At the same time, of those who had not joined KiwiSaver, 24 per cent had a perception such investment vehicles offered low flexibility. That was up from 15 per cent the previous quarter.
"With mortgage rates currently on the high side, reducing debt will continue to be of high priority for many KiwiSaver members," Giannoulis said.
It would be interesting to see whether another spike in the number of people signing up to a KiwiSaver scheme would follow the introduction of the option for members to divert up to half of their KiwiSaver contributions towards their mortgage.
- NZPA
