First-home buyers · ranked on the data

Best KiwiSaver funds for first-home buyers (2026)

Buying within 1–4 years? The wrong fund means a market drop right before withdrawal could cost you the deposit. We rank Conservative and Defensive funds for stability and modest growth.

General information only · Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance · Returns shown are historical (Morningstar Morningstar KiwiSaver 360, Q1 2026), net of fund fees at 28% PIR. For personal advice on which fund fits you, run our free Health Check or get in touch.

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Smiths' top 5

The 5we'd look at first.

1
Conservative
Quaystreet Conservative Fund
Quaystreet Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 3.60% 5y · 0.86% fees
Full review →Compare
2
Conservative· default
Core Conservative Fund
Fisher Funds Kiwisaver Plan
Conservative · 3.16% 5y · 0.51% fees
Full review →Compare
3
Conservative· default
Bnz Kiwisaver First Home Buyer Fund
Bnz Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.77% 5y · 0.45% fees
Full review →Compare
4
Conservative
Quaystreet Income Fund
Quaystreet Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.95% 5y · 0.87% fees
Full review →Compare
5
Conservative
Pathfinder Kiwisaver Conservative Fund
Pathfinder Kiwisaver Plan
Conservative · 3.00% 5y · 1.01% fees
Full review →Compare

How we ranked these

Our methodology

We restrict to Defensive and Conservative band funds (suited to 1–4 year horizons) and rank on 5-year return after fees.

Smiths is FAP-licensed (FSP712931) and gives advice on a defined panel of KiwiSaver schemes. We don't run our own scheme. We do receive an upfront fee plus a trail commission (0.25%–0.5%) from the scheme we move clients to, disclosed in full at smiths.net.nz/disclosure. The ranking on this page covers every scheme in NZ, regardless of whether it is on our panel. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. this is general information only.

The full ranking

All 58 funds we considered

#6
Conservative
Cash Fund
Westpac Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.58% 5y · 0.25% fees
#7
Conservative
Milford Kiwisaver Conservative Fund
Milford Kiwisaver Plan
Conservative · 2.88% 5y · 0.87% fees
#8
Conservative
Cash Fund
Anz Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.52% 5y · 0.22% fees
#9
Conservative
Cash Fund
Anz Default Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.52% 5y · 0.22% fees
#10
Conservative
Cash Fund
Mas Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.53% 5y · 0.25% fees
#11
Conservative
Cash Fund
Fisher Funds Kiwisaver Plan
Conservative · 2.62% 5y · 0.45% fees
#12
Conservative
Milford Kiwisaver Cash Fund
Milford Kiwisaver Plan
Conservative · 2.47% 5y · 0.20% fees
#13
Conservative
Conservative Fund
Asb Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.56% 5y · 0.40% fees
#14
Conservative
Cash Enhanced Fund
Fisher Funds Two Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.60% 5y · 0.52% fees
#15
Conservative
Bnz Kiwisaver Cash Fund
Bnz Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.45% 5y · 0.30% fees
#16
Conservative
Conservative Fund
Fisher Funds Kiwisaver Plan
Conservative · 2.72% 5y · 0.87% fees
#17
Conservative
Conservative Balanced Fund
Anz Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.64% 5y · 0.73% fees
#18
Conservative
Conservative Balanced Fund
Anz Default Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.63% 5y · 0.73% fees
#19
Conservative
Defensive Conservative Fund
Westpac Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.46% 5y · 0.40% fees
#20
Conservative
Conservative Fund
Anz Default Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.45% 5y · 0.42% fees
#21
Conservative
Glidepath Age 65
Fisher Funds Two Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.67% 5y · 0.89% fees
#22
Conservative
Cash Fund
Mercer Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.37% 5y · 0.32% fees
#23
Conservative
Conservative Fund
Booster Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.39% 5y · 0.38% fees
#24
Conservative
Nz Cash Fund
Asb Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.37% 5y · 0.35% fees
#25
Conservative
Capital Guaranteed Fund
Booster Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.68% 5y · 1.03% fees
#26
Conservative
Glidepath Age 75
Fisher Funds Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.61% 5y · 0.94% fees
#27
Conservative
Lifestages Auto Option Age 65+
Sbs Wealth Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.60% 5y · 0.96% fees
#28
Conservative
Amp Defensive Conservative Fund
Amp Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.32% 5y · 0.49% fees
#29
Conservative
Responsible Conservative Fund
Mercer Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.30% 5y · 0.49% fees
#30
Conservative
Bnz Kiwisaver Conservative Fund
Bnz Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.26% 5y · 0.45% fees
#31
Conservative
Conservative Fund
Fisher Funds Two Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.35% 5y · 0.88% fees
#32
Conservative
Glidepath Age 75
Fisher Funds Two Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.34% 5y · 0.86% fees
#33
Conservative
Preservation Fund
Fisher Funds Two Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.21% 5y · 0.61% fees
#34
Conservative
Conservative Fund
Mas Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.30% 5y · 0.85% fees
#35
Conservative
Conservative Fund
Fisher Funds Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.33% 5y · 0.93% fees
#36
Conservative
Amp Cash Fund
Amp Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.10% 5y · 0.65% fees
#37
Conservative
Asset Class Conservative Fund
Booster Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.35% 5y · 1.24% fees
#38
Conservative
Conservative Fund
Simplicity Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 1.75% 5y · 0.25% fees
#39
Conservative
Enhanced Cash Fund
Booster Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 2.01% 5y · 0.87% fees
#40
Conservative
Conservative Fund
Anz Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 1.76% 5y · 0.60% fees
#41
Conservative
Quaystreet Fixed Interest Fund
Quaystreet Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 1.80% 5y · 0.86% fees
#42
Conservative
Cashplus Fund
Fisher Funds Kiwisaver Plan
Conservative · 1.65% 5y · 0.68% fees
#43
Conservative
Kernel Cash Plus Fund
Kernel Kiwisaver Plan
Conservative · 0.00% 5y · 0.25% fees
#44
Conservative
Defensive Fund
Simplicity Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 0.00% 5y · 0.25% fees
#45
Conservative
Kernel Conservative Fund
Kernel Kiwisaver Plan
Conservative · 0.00% 5y · 0.25% fees
#46
Conservative
Kernel Us Bond Fund
Kernel Kiwisaver Plan
Conservative · 0.00% 5y · 0.30% fees
#47
Conservative
Kernel Nz Bond Fund
Kernel Kiwisaver Plan
Conservative · 0.00% 5y · 0.40% fees
#48
Conservative
Sbs Wealth Cash Fund
Sbs Wealth Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 0.00% 5y · 0.45% fees
#49
Conservative
Sbs Wealth Income Fund
Sbs Wealth Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 0.05% 5y · 0.87% fees
#50
Conservative
Glidepath Age 75
Fisher Funds Kiwisaver Plan
Conservative · 0.00% 5y · 0.84% fees
#51
Conservative
Cashplus Fund
Generate Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 0.00% 5y · 0.91% fees
#52
Conservative
Glidepath Age 65
Fisher Funds Kiwisaver Plan
Conservative · 0.00% 5y · 0.91% fees
#53
Conservative
Stepping Stones 76+
Generate Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 0.00% 5y · 1.21% fees
#54
Conservative
Conservative Fund
Generate Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 0.00% 5y · 1.21% fees
#55
Conservative
Stepping Stones 65-75
Generate Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 0.00% 5y · 1.23% fees
#56
Conservative
Milford Conservative Fund
Amp Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · 0.00% 5y · 1.33% fees
#57
Conservative
Amp Global Fixed Interest Fund
Amp Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · -0.57% 5y · 0.84% fees
#58
Conservative
Amp Nz Fixed Interest Fund
Amp Kiwisaver Scheme
Conservative · -0.71% 5y · 0.86% fees

Need a personal take?

We don't pick funds in the abstract.

Take the 90-second Health Check and we'll match you to the best fit for your timeframe, goals, and tax position from our advised panel, benchmarked against every fund in the directory.

Our directory covers every NZ KiwiSaver fund. Our advice panel is five schemes (ANZ, Booster, Fisher Funds, Generate, Milford); recommendations land on four funds across Milford and Booster — how we're paid →

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More curated lists

Quaystreet Conservative Fund

Core Conservative Fund

Bnz Kiwisaver First Home Buyer Fund

Quaystreet Income Fund

Pathfinder Kiwisaver Conservative Fund

Our methodology

We don't pick funds in the abstract.