Sharesies says its KiwiSaver scheme which has 8,000 members and $230 million in funds under management will have access to US markets from December

Retail investment platform Sharesies will be giving members of its KiwiSaver scheme access to US markets from the end of this year.

Sharesies launched its KiwiSaver scheme in December 2023 and the company says the scheme is the fastest growing self-select KiwiSaver scheme in New Zealand. It has over 8,000 members and $230 million funds under management (FUM).

“Being able to invest in the US markets using your KiwiSaver is one of our most requested features,” Sharesies co-chief executive Leighton Roberts said on Tuesday.

“KiwiSaver funds under management are now over $111 billion and will only continue to grow, having doubled in the last five years alone. Our expansion into US markets reflects the level of ambition we have for our KiwiSaver scheme and KiwiSaver more generally as a vehicle for growing Aotearoa’s wealth.”

From December this year, Sharesies’ KiwiSaver members will be able to access the US markets by either individual stocks or a fund called the Sharesies US500 fund. 

The fund will offer direct exposure to the Vanguard S&P 500 exchange-traded fund (ETF) and includes the largest 500 US-listed companies across all sectors.

Sharesies KiwiSaver members will be able to invest as much or as little as they like in the US500 fund.

“While past performance doesn’t indicate future returns, Vanguard data shows that over the past decade, an S&P 500 ETF has delivered an annual return of nearly 13% through a range of market conditions. So for some investors this may be a great option,” Roberts said.

According to Vanguard research provided by Sharesies, between 1980 to the end of 2023, 10 of the 20 best trading days took place in years with negative total returns. But 11 of the 20 worst trading days happened in years with positive total returns.

Sharesies said timing the market was difficult as the best and worst trading days often occur close together.

Sharesies’ KiwiSaver members will also be able to invest in more than 50 individual US stocks, including Meta and Apple. 

The platform said ‘guardrails’ will still apply which will mean a 5% limit when investing in a single stock and at least 50% of an investor’s portfolio will need to be in base funds.

Sharesies manages over $3.5 billion in funds and has over 700,000 users across NZ and Australia. 

The platform invests in over 8,000 companies and funds which span five exchanges in the US, Australia, and New Zealand, with no minimum investment requirement.