CareSaver Review - is this the KiwiSaver scheme for you?

We review CareSaver, the KiwiSaver scheme offering ethical investments, charitable donations and active management

Updated 3 November 2020

Summary of CareSaver

• Funds and Fees: CareSaver offers ​three funds (Conservative, Balanced and Growth), with annual fees ranging between 0.83% p.a. and 1.26% p.a. of the total investment plus a $27 membership fee, in line with actively managed funds such as Milford KiwiSaver, Fisher Funds and Generate.
• Results: CareSaver produced the second-highest Growth Fund returns for the year ended 30 September 2020 per Morningstar data, outperforming other ethical funds such as Simplicity Growth and Booster Growth, as well as 31 out of the 32 KiwiSaver Growth funds. Additionally, the CareSaver Conservative Fund was the top performing fund for conservative category for the three months to 30 September 2020 (and featured in the NZ Herald).
• Ethical investing: CareSaver's ethical investing policy is at the heart of everything it does. It arguably applies the strictest test, excluding any company it considers to be 'unethical' or a poor investment opportunity. It also invests outside the sharemarket and has recently taken an equity stake in Sharesies. Alongside holdings in Microsoft and wind farm companies, CareSaver's intention is to invest in companies that are undervalued, have growth potential and do not harm society.
• Charitable donations: CareSaver has pledged to donate 20% of its management fees to New Zealand charities. A recent list of recipients can be found here.
• Assets: Funds invest in ethically-approved cash, bonds and listed and unlisted companies. The mix depends on the risk profile of the fund. 
• Performance: As the funds were only launched in mid-2019, the In the latest Morningstar KiwiSaver survey does not contain the funds; we expect the first 12-month fund performance to be available for the period ending 30 September 2020.
• Our view: CareSaver does not take a passive approach to ethical investing. It's focus is one investing in only the most sustainable, non-harmful companies that it believes to be undervalued. CareSaver has a raft of exclusions for its selection processes and uses a stringent environment, social and governance metric.
• Limitations: If you’re looking for funds investing in specific industries, such as oil and gas, agriculture or mining, CareSaver is not for you. CareSaver's active management means its fees are higher than ethical index-tracking schemes.

Our Review
In this guide, we outline what the CareSaver KiwiSaver plan is, how it differs from standard KiwiSaver providers, as well as looking at whether it's safe to invest in given its recent appearance in 2019 as a KiwiSaver provider. We cover:

• The Specs of CareSaver
• The Funds
• What You Need to Know
• FAQs
• ​The Competition
• What the media says about CareSaver
• ​3 Must-Know Facts about CareSaver
• Conclusion

Please note: MoneyHub is not a Financial Adviser, and our guide to the CareSaver KiwiSaver Plan has been published to explain the investment fundamentals and outline the pros and cons of the scheme. Nothing in this guide constitutes financial advice.​

How does CareSaver compare with other options?

• Read our Favourite KiwiSaver Funds guide to find out more.
• Worried about not having enough money when you retire? Don't retire poor - read our Retirement in a Nutshell guide (warning: it's brutally honest)

Learn more or Join CareSaver

The specs of CareSaver's three funds

CareSaver offers three different funds, investing in local cash deposits and bonds, as well as New Zealand, Australian and overseas shares. CareSaver's funds' offshore assets are 50% hedged to the NZ dollar. This means that if the NZ Dollar rises against any overseas currency, the value of the overseas investment is 50% diminished due to the hedging and therefore eliminating exchange rate movement as an investment risk. Hedging is standard practice by almost all KiwiSaver schemes and CareSaver operates in line with its competitors. 

 
The fees are as followed: 

• Annual fees:

1. CareSaver Conservative Fund: Management fee of 0.83% p.a + $27 CareSaver plan membership fee per year. 
2. CareSaver Balanced Fund: Management fee of 1.12% p.a + $27 CareSaver plan membership fee per year. 
3. CareSaver Growth Fund: Management fee of 1.26% p.a + $27 CareSaver plan membership fee per year. 

• Transfer in and exit fees: There are no exit fees, but your existing KiwiSaver scheme provider may charge an exit fee - you'll need to contact them to find out what that is. Our switching KiwiSaver guide has more details. 
• Minimum Initial Investment: $1 for all funds.

​Investment Products include:

• Cash and cash equivalents (i.e. bank deposits in New Zealand banks)
• NZ Fixed Income (i.e. investments in New Zealand or and/or local government bonds or company debt)
• International Fixed Income (i.e. investments in overseas government bonds or company debt)
• Australian Equities (i.e. shares in ethically-approved New Zealand and Australian companies listed on the sharemarket)
• International Equities (i.e. shares in ethically-approved oversras-listed companies)

CareSaver Funds in a Nutshell

CareSaver offers three funds - Conservative, Balanced and Growth. This is a standard setup for almost all KiwiSaver schemes. When it comes to risk, generally the rule is that the higher the percentage invested in shares (rather than cash deposits and fixed income), the riskier the investment. This is because shares fluctuate in value, whereas cash deposits don't and your investment is near-guaranteed for anything classes as cash or fixed-income. It's important to note that all CareSaver funds are actively managed, with individual shares analysed, bought and sold by the Pathfinder funds management team. 

1. Conservative Fund
This fund investments largely in fixed-income (60%) and cash (20%), leaving an exposure to the sharemarket of 20% of funds invested, with most of the risk in overseas shares. Recent holdings include bonds in forest companies, shares in a wind farm company and standard bank term deposits and cash accounts.

The fund comprises of:

• Cash and cash equivalents 20%
• NZ Fixed Income 30%
• International Fixed Income 30%
• Australian Equities 10%
• International Equities 10%

2. Balanced Fund
This fund is a bridge between the Conservative fund above and the Growth fund below, offering a midway point for someone looking for higher returns without high risk. As such, the fund is 60% shares and 40% fixed income and cash. Recent holdings include RUA Bioscience, Microsoft and ​bonds in forest companies.

The fund comprises of:

• Cash and cash equivalents 10%
• NZ Fixed Income 10%
• International Fixed Income 20%
• Australian Equities 15%
• International Equities 45%

3. Growth Fund
The most aggressive fund CareSaver offers, with 80% tied up in shares around the world. The return and value of this fund will depend heavily on how each company performs. Recent holdings include RUA Bioscience, Sharesies, Microsoft, Vestas Wind Systems, Equinix Inc and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, among others.
 
The fund comprises of:

• Cash and cash equivalents 5%
• NZ Fixed Income 5%
• International Fixed Income 10%
• Australian Equities 20%
• International Equities 60%

Who is CareSaver suited to?

• ​Best For: Investors who care strongly about what they’re invested in and who have a strong view on ethical issues including diversity, animal rights, climate change and human rights. 
• Also suitable for: Investors who are charitable - CareSaver donates 20% to charity out of its investment fees. This means that if the management fee is 1.26% p.a. (as it is with the CareSaver Growth fund), 0.252% of your fee is collected for charitable donations. If your KiwiSaver balance is $25,000, this would means $63 a year is donated on your behalf.
• Not suitable for: KiwiSaver participants looking for aggressive returns at any cost (meaning any investment will be considered.

Learn more or Join CareSaver

CareSaver - What You Need to Know

​The Claim
"CareSaver is a KiwiSaver plan that goes further than simply avoiding companies that harm our society – we seek out companies actively making a positive difference".
 
Is it True?
Yes - CareSaver, via its PathFinder investment managers (and specialist third-party ratings agents), consider all companies on environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics. As a result, CareSaver doesn't invest in any business trading in tobacco, factory farming, whaling, controversial weapons, fossil fuels, civilian weapons, inequality, animal testing, gambling, adult entertainment. 

​The Claim
"Every year we’ll donate 20% of our management fees to the charity you select".

Is it True?
Yes - CareSaver's recent charitable donations are listed here.

CareSaver FAQs

​How does the investing happen?

Pathfinder, the parent of CareSaver, manage the assets and are responsible for getting the best returns across all funds. Pathfinder looks after $113m+ in assets, held on behalf of New Zealanders. The costs of active management is the main reason fees are the staff. 

Understanding the process of ethical investment selection: CareSaver KiwiSaver safely boasts one of the most rigorous standards in ethical investing. It’s ethical policy and approach are spelled out in detailed here. It is one of the few fund managers who are signatories to the UN Principles of Responsible Investment and is accredited by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia. CareSaver's extensive ethical investing policy can be downloaded here.

If I invest with CareSaver, is my money going into the sharemarket?

For all funds, the answer to this is yes. However, the percentage of your money invested in the sharemarket depends on the fund and its risk profile - the Conservative Fund has the least money in sharemarket, whereas the Growth Fund invests the most money in the sharemarket. However, all of the investments are diversified so you are protected if and when one or two investments don’t work out.

Risk - the three funds each offer a unique investment strategy. Some are low-risk, some are medium risk and some are high risk. The returns/profit you make don’t necessarily depend on the risk you take.

How big is CareSaver?

CareSaver is a young, small but growing KiwiSaver plan. Because it's a young scheme, it is smaller than other established providers like Westpac and BNZ, and other non-banks schemes such as Simplicity and JUNO. As of mid July 2020, about $30 million was invested across the three funds, with the Growth Fund having the most invested.

CareSaver launched in mid-2019; can I trust it and is it safe for me to invest?

On the issue of trust, the answer is yes. All KiwiSaver providers must comply with a number of strict rules to ensure the funds of their clients (i.e. what KiwiSaver investors put in) are kept completely separate from the funds used to run the scheme (i.e. money to pay the staff and run the business). CareSaver has appointed Public Trust as their independent supervisor and custodian. Public Trust has been around for almost 150 years and is ‘guaranteed independent’ under the Public Trust Act 2001.

CareSaver specifically states that "Our trustee is Public Trust, which in turn is owned by the Government.  All transactions and payments are made by the trustee (not the manager). Your investments will go up and down with markets, but they are held safely".

What happens if CareSaver closes?

• ​Should CareSaver (and/or Pathfinder) close down, your funds would transfer to another provider under the rules of KiwiSaver.
  
• With regards to whether it’s safe to invest, no fund is guaranteed, but the risk profile indicates where your money will be invested.
  
• This is the case with any KiwiSaver scheme, and not unique to CareSaver. The fund updates section is updated every three months and outlines how the funds have performed, as well as what the top ten holdings (i.e assets) are of each fund.

The Competition - CareSaver vs other ethical KiwiSaver funds

CareSaver and Simplicity are arguably the most charitable and ethical KiwiSaver funds. However it's difficult to compare given CareSaver is actively managed and Simplicity is a passive scheme. CareSaver applies a high standard to the companies it chooses to invest it because it is not a index fund investment, and its ethical investing policy is at the heart of every investment. 

Results: CareSaver produced the second-highest Growth Fund returns for the year ended 30 September 2020 per Morningstar data, outperforming other ESG funds such as Simplicity Growth and Booster Growth. Additionally, the top performing fund for conservative category for the three months to 30 September 2020 was CareSaver Conservative, up 2.5 per cent (and featured in the NZ Herald).

What Others Are Saying:

The NZHerald reported in July 2019 that CareSaver was aligned with ethical investing and would only invest in New Zealand listed companies that have at least one female director on their boards. Furthermore, CareSaver committed to share 20 per cent of its investment management fees from its funds with 17 leading charities including the Mental Health Foundation, Forest & Bird and Plunket. Individual KiwiSaver members will be able to select the beneficiary charity.

Stuff.co.nz reported in October 2019 that CareSaver used Sustainalytics to help it avoid companies in industries its investors wish to avoid: tobacco, factory farming, controversial as well as civilian weapons, fossil fuels, gambling, and animal-testing.

BusinessDesk reported in June 2020 that CareSaver had taken stakes in medicinal cannabis company Rua BioScience and online investment platform Sharesies, investing $420,000 and $460,000 respectively. 

John Berry, CareSaver's CEO, writes occasionally as a columnist in Stuff.co.nz - an example of a recent publication (covering COVID-19 and KiwiSaver balances) can be found here.

Learn more or Join CareSaver

Three Things to Know About CareSaver's Kiwisaver Scheme

Your KiwiSaver balance will be largely based on the rise and fall of sharemarkets and the skills of Pathfinder's management team

Depending on which CareSaver fund you invest in, the movements in New Zealand, Australian and/or overseas share prices will affect the value of your investment. Pathfinder's team targets undervalued assets and buys them for the purpose of profit. CareSaver joins the likes of JUNO, Milford, Generate and Fisher Funds (among others) as active managers. When it comes to returns, what's important is not to look at the day to day, but the year-on-year return. Markets are volatile, and individual shares more so, so every CareSaver member is outsourcing the task of wealth creation to the Pathfinder management team. 

Signing up or switching to CareSaver isn't complicated

You'll need a form of ID, your IRD number and know your PIR (personal income tax) rate. It takes about three minutes via their online form.  Once submitted, CareSaver will then contact you and arrange the onboarding to their scheme.

It's usually free to change your KiwiSaver provider and join CareSaver. Check with your current provider so that you're aware, and follow our KiwiSaver transfer guidance to make sure you're not caught out.

CareSaver offers customer service via phone (0800 ETHICAL), online chat and e-mail. For the fees charged, having multiple avenues of customer interaction is reasonable. ​​​

20% of management fees go to charity

​While you won't get any tax credit directly from this, the charity donation is greater than Simplicity's (15%) and which makes it the most charitable in terms of percentage-of-fees-donated. Whether this is good or bad depends on how you feel about charities as a whole. CareSaver also promotes the fact that KiwiSaver members can select the charity they want to invest in, or default to those selected by the CareSaver management team. A recent list of donations can be found here.

CareSaver: Our Conclusion

• CareSaver offers ethical investing and charitable giving at a level not seen before in New Zealand.
• While the scheme is young and small (at around $30m in total funds), it has promise and initial strong results (ranked second for Growth funds, beating 31 out of 32 funds) for the 12 months ended 30 September 2020.
  
• Investments in off-market ventures like Sharesies shows CareSaver's managers are seeking out long-term investments in local New Zealand businesses.

How does CareSaver compare with other options?

• Read our Favourite KiwiSaver Funds guide to find out more.
• Worried about not having enough money when you retire? Don't retire poor - read our Retirement in a Nutshell guide (warning: it's brutally honest).

Learn more or Join CareSaver