The right KiwiSaver risk band for your age (and your goals)

The single biggest decision in KiwiSaver isn't which fund. it's which risk band. Two Conservative funds will perform within a percentage point of each other. A Conservative fund vs an Aggressive fund? That's a $200,000 difference at retirement.

The five bands

• Defensive. almost all cash and short-duration bonds. 1+ year horizon. Tiny swings, modest returns.
• Conservative. bonds-heavy with light shares. 3+ year horizon. Steady but modest growth.
• Balanced. 50/50 growth/income. 5+ year horizon. Meaningful ups and downs but smoothed.
• Growth. mostly shares. 7+ year horizon. Bigger swings, bigger long-term returns.
• Aggressive. almost entirely shares. 10+ year horizon. Largest swings, highest long-term returns.

The cheat-sheet by goal

• Buying a first home in 1-2 years? Defensive. A 20% market drop the month before withdrawal would destroy your deposit.
• First home in 3-5 years? Conservative.
• Saving for retirement, 30s/40s? Growth or Aggressive. You have decades to ride out drawdowns.
• 50s, retirement in 10-15 years? Balanced or Growth. start dialling down.
• 60s, drawing down within 5 years? Conservative or Balanced.

The two mistakes everyone makes

• Too conservative when young. A 25-year-old in a Conservative fund will retire with roughly half what they would in an Aggressive fund. You have 40 years to ride out market drops. don't waste them.
• Too aggressive when close to drawdown. Markets drop 30%+ once a decade. If that happens the year before you retire, an Aggressive fund just lost you 30% of your nest egg with no time to recover.

Browse the screener filtered by risk band or run the Health Check for a personal recommendation.