Generate KiwiSaver Scheme Review

Generate is one of New Zealand's longest-running specialist KiwiSaver providers. This review explains the funds it offers, what you pay, and who it does and does not suit. It is not financial advice.

Updated 3 June 2026

Our View

Generate has grown from a small three-fund challenger into an established provider with nine funds and over 185,000 members. Its strengths are genuine - clear fund updates, a track record on its original funds, and responsible-investment screening across the range.
Generate's fees have come down a lot since we first reviewed it pre-COVID.
Generate is actively managed, so you are paying for a manager to try to beat the market, and the fees remain higher than low-cost index alternatives such as Kernel and Simplicity. As with any actively managed fund, some years that active approach adds value; some years it does not, and over a lifetime of saving even a small fee gap compounds into real money. As such, it's arguable that Generate suits people who understand and accept that trade-off, not people whose main goal is the lowest possible cost.

The scheme publishes clear fund updates, all of which show exactly where each fund invests at a granular level (a specific share, underlying global equity fund or cash investments), building confidence with investors. Their monthly newsletters show investment performance and top holdings in each fund. Generate provides members with a full asset breakdown of their investments (to an underlying fund level).
Switching between any Generate KiwiSaver fund is free. There are no joining fees or exit fees if you take your money to another fund.

Know This

Fees matter, but they are only one factor. The fund type you are in (how much is invested in shares versus cash and bonds) usually has a far bigger effect on your end balance than the fee difference between providers.
Past returns are not a guide to future returns: Markets fall as well as rise, and a fund that has led its category can lag the next year. The best approach to KiwiSaver is to select a fund you are comfortable holding through a downturn, not the one with the best recent numbers.

This review covers:

Generate at a glance

Who runs it: Generate Investment Management Limited, a New Zealand-owned and operated fund manager that has been running KiwiSaver funds since 2013.
Supervisor and custodian: Public Trust, a Crown entity, supervises the scheme and holds members' assets as custodian.
Funds on offer: Six diversified funds - CashPlus (Defensive), Conservative, Moderate, Balanced, Growth and Focused Growth - plus three single-sector funds: Australasian, Thematic and Global. You can hold one fund or split across several funds.
Stepping Stones: An optional age-based (lifecycle) setting that automatically shifts your mix towards more conservative assets as you get older, so you can set and forget.
Responsible investing: All Generate funds are recognised as Mindful Funds by Mindful Money, and the manager applies negative screening to exclude a list of harmful industries.
Default provider? No. Generate is not one of the six government-appointed default providers. You will only be with Generate if you chose it or transferred in.
Cost in brief: A $36 a year membership fee ($3 a month) for members aged 18 and over, plus an annual management fee of around 1.08% to 1.25% depending on the fund (the CashPlus fund is lower, at 0.40%). Both fees are deducted automatically - you are not billed separately.

Generate KiwiSaver Funds, Fees and Where Your Money is Invested

Generate runs nine KiwiSaver funds in total - six diversified funds that sit on a sliding scale from lowest risk to highest, plus three more concentrated single-sector funds for experienced investors who want targeted exposure. You can hold one fund or spread your money across several, and switching between them is free.

The six diversified funds are CashPlus (Defensive), Conservative, Moderate, Balanced, Growth and Focused Growth.

As a rule, the more a fund is weighted towards growth assets like shares, property and infrastructure, the higher its expected long-term return, the bigger its potential ups and downs, and the higher its fee.
The income-heavy funds (cash, term deposits and bonds) are steadier but tend to return less over time.

The three single-sector funds, Australasian, Thematic and Global, are more concentrated and carry more risk than the diversified range.

Reminder: Generate is actively managed, which means a team is picking investments to try to beat the market rather than simply tracking it. That is the main reason its fees sit above low-cost index funds. The table below sets out each fund's risk rating, estimated annual fund charge and what it mainly holds, so you can weigh cost against where your money actually goes.

Fund	Risk (1–7)*	Est. annual fund charge*	What it mainly holds
CashPlus (Defensive)	1	0.40%p.a.	Almost entirely cash and cash equivalents (the fund moved to 100% cash in 2025). For money you may need within about 12 months, such as a near-term first-home deposit. Lowest expected ups and downs.
Conservative	3	1.08%p.a.	Mostly income assets with a modest slice of shares and property. Steadier, with lower expected long-term returns.
Moderate	3	1.13%p.a.	A larger growth slice than Conservative, but still income-weighted.
Balanced	4	1.22%p.a.	Roughly an even split of growth assets and income assets.
Growth	4	1.23%p.a.	Mostly growth assets (shares, property, infrastructure) with a small income buffer. A long-term fund.
Focused Growth	5	1.25%p.a.	Almost fully invested in growth assets. The most aggressive diversified fund, with the highest expected ups and downs.
Australasian	5	1.19%p.a.	Actively managed, mostly New Zealand and Australian growth assets. High volatility and single-region concentration.
Thematic	5	1.18%p.a.	Concentrated around long-term investment themes. Higher concentration risk.
Global	5	1.18%p.a.	Focused on international growth assets.

* Risk runs from 1 (lowest) to 7 (highest), based on five-year return volatility, and is indicative. Estimated annual fund charge figures are Generate's published estimates and may change. A $36 a year membership fee ($3 a month) also applies to members aged 18 and over. Both fees are deducted automatically. This is general information, not financial advice.

Generate's 'Age Step' Fund Option - Stepping Stones and Stepping Stones Growth

Stepping Stones is Generate's lifecycle option. Instead of picking a single fund yourself, it spreads your KiwiSaver across Generate's funds based on your age and automatically reduces your risk as you get older, making it a genuine set-and-forget choice.

There are two versions, Stepping Stones and Stepping Stones Growth. Both adjust automatically as you age. The Growth version simply keeps you in a higher proportion of growth assets for longer.
The younger you are, the more your money sits in growth assets (shares, property and infrastructure), to make the most of the years you have left to invest and ride out market ups and downs.
As you near retirement, the mix shifts towards lower-risk income assets (cash, term deposits and bonds) to help protect what you have built.
It suits people who would rather not choose or manage a fund themselves but still want an age-appropriate level of risk.
The exact age bands, fund mix and fees apply automatically and are updated by Generate from time to time.

For the current age-by-age breakdown of how each strategy is invested, see Generate's Stepping Stones page.

Pros & Cons

PROS

Nine funds covering the full risk spectrum, from the very low-risk CashPlus (Defensive) through to the aggressive Focused Growth, plus three single-sector funds. Each is clearly defined in Generate's fund updates and product disclosure statement.
Actively managed with a long live track record on its original funds (running since 2013). You are paying for a team that tries to beat the market rather than simply track it, and in some periods Generate's funds have led their category.
A genuine lifecycle option (Stepping Stones) that automatically shifts your mix towards lower-risk assets as you get older, for a set-and-forget approach.
Responsible-investment screening across the range - every Generate fund is recognised as a Mindful Fund.
Fees have fallen substantially over the years.
No joining or exit fees, and switching between funds is free.

CONS

Fees are above low-cost index funds: They are broadly in line with other actively managed growth providers such as the Milford KiwiSaver Plan and the Fisher Funds KiwiSaver Scheme, but over decades a higher fee compounds into a meaningful drag on your balance if the investment underperforms the market long-term.
Active management can underperform the market in any given period. Past outperformance is no guarantee of future results.
The single-sector funds (Australasian, Thematic and Global) carry concentration risk and need to be carefully considered.

Who is the Generate KiwiSaver Scheme Suited To?

Overall, Generate may suit you if

You are investing for the long term and can ride out market falls without switching funds.
You want an actively managed fund and accept paying more than an index fund for it.
You value clear, detailed fund reporting and want to see exactly what you are invested in.
You want responsible-investment screening applied across every fund.

It may not suit you if

Your main priority is the lowest possible fee - low-cost index providers will almost always be cheaper.
You may need the money within a few years and cannot tolerate short-term falls (though the CashPlus fund is built for exactly this case).
You prefer the simplicity and predictability of tracking the whole market rather than backing a manager's calls.

Be aware:

Fees are much higher than standard bank and index-following KiwiSaver schemes - this is due to the costs associated with investing actively.
As with any investment, markets go up and down. The Dotcom bubble in the early 2000s sank global sharemarkets, as did the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. No one can predict the future.

The Bottom Line

Generate is arguably not for the nervous. Its growth-focused funds (Growth and Focused Growth, plus the single-sector Australasian, Thematic and Global funds) are built for the long term, and once you are in one you should expect to stay invested through the market's ups and downs.
Depending on your balance, other providers offer cheaper management fees, low-cost index funds in particular. The trade-off is that Generate is actively managed, so you are paying a team to try to beat the market rather than simply track it.
For example, on a $40,000 balance the Generate Growth Fund at about 1.23% costs roughly $490 a year in management fees. A low-cost index growth fund at around 0.25% would cost closer to $100 a year. That gap of roughly $390 a year does not sound like much, but it compounds into thousands of dollars over a few decades. The two are not directly comparable, though, because an index fund tracks the market while Generate is actively managed. Either way, compare fund objectives as well as fees before you decide.
Generate charges no joining or exit fees, and you can switch between its funds for free as often as you like.

How does Generate 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).

Facts to Know About the Generate Kiwisaver Scheme

Facts to Know - Generate Kiwisaver Scheme

Generate is arguably performance and growth focused

Banks dominate the KiwiSaver market, offering similar fund names and structures. Generate takes a completely different approach; it is clear the scheme is all about growth and using international experts to outperform the market.

No matter what your employer's default KiwiSaver provider or fund is, you are entitled to select a Generate KiwiSaver fund

Your employer may offer another default KiwiSaver provider, but any KiwiSaver member has the right to pick any one of the 20+ providers and the fund they want. If you feel a Generate KiwiSaver fund is right for you, then you can either join (if you're new to KiwiSaver) or switch your existing fund to a Generate.

There is no minimum investment and it's easy to arrange a savings suspension

As a Generate KiwiSaver member, you'll pay the $3.00 monthly membership fee. This gives you the freedom to invest as you like. And if you want to contribute to your fund at a level above your fixed salary contribution, you can do this by contacting the client services team.

Dividends your fund receives are reinvested, meaning more cash is invested on your behalf

Most Generate KiwiSaver funds invest in shares, and many will pay dividends. These cash payments represent the profits from companies returning it to the shareholders, i.e. you. When a company declares a dividend, your fund will receive money and it is re-invested into more shares, growing the value of your fund.

Despite being a cash payment, and as is the case with all KiwiSaver funds, there is no option to take this money as cash until you turn 65.

Generate has a 'responsible investing' policy

Generate applies negative screening and considers ESG factors across all its funds and it excludes direct and underlying-fund investments in companies involved in activities such as controversial weapons (cluster munitions, anti-personnel mines, chemical and nuclear weapons), tobacco and fossil-fuel extraction. Generate has been a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment since 2018. More details can be found in their responsible investing policy.

Signing up to Generate KiwiSaver isn't Complicated, but you’ll need to decide what fund to invest in first

Signing up to the Generate KiwiSaver scheme is fast and easy; Generate claims it can be done in two minutes. Before you go ahead, you’ll need to decide your fund first.

Our Conclusion

Generate has matured into a credible, transparent, New Zealand-owned KiwiSaver provider with a fund for almost every risk appetite and a genuinely long track record on its original funds. Its fee cuts over the years are welcome and narrow the gap with cheaper rivals.
The decision still comes down to one question - do you want to pay more for active management in the hope of beating the market, or keep costs as low as possible with an index fund?
As always, choose the fund and provider you are comfortable holding for the long term, and review it as your life and goals change.