Asteron KiwiSaver shuts, recommends Grosvenor

Asteron has closed its $33 million KiwiSaver fund and is recommending its 6200 investors transfer their money to the scheme run by Grosvenor

The closure of Asteron’s KiwiSaver scheme, flagged by Good Returns a fortnight ago, marks the third provider to shut up shop after the Australian-owned EoSaver and union fund IRIS folded two years ago.

Sean Carroll, Asteron managing director, said the firm has recommended its KiwiSaver members shift to Grosvenor because it has a similar funds profile to the Asteron scheme.

“Grosvenor also ensures KiwiSaver investors deal through advisers,” Carroll said.

He said under the terms of the deal, Asteron will receive a payment from Grosvenor for each KiwiSaver client transfer to help recover administration costs.

As well, Asteron members who make the shift to Grosvenor will be given a discounted administration fee for a period. Grosvenor will also pay a slightly higher trail commission to advisers than that offered by Asteron.

Asteron members have until May 31 to choose a new provider or they will be allocated to one of the six default KiwiSaver schemes.

Carroll said the decision to close the Asteron scheme was a “logical” one given the concentrated market.

“If you look at the KiwiSaver market, 95% of members are with the top seven providers,” he said. “That leaves 45 or so other providers fighting over 5% in a market with very slim margins. There will be further consolidation.”

According to Carroll, while the Asteron scheme, which has accumulated $33 million and about 6,200 clients since launching in 2007, wasn’t yet profitable but “we weren’t losing much money either”.

He said while Asteron remained supportive of KiwiSaver for New Zealand it would now focus on its core life insurance operations.

Asteron’s KiwiSaver money was largely managed by Tyndall Investment Management, which is owned by Asteron parent, Australian firm Suncorp.

Asteron puts KiwiSaver scheme on notice

In the latest amendment to its prospectus Asteron has strongly signaled it may soon close its KiwiSaver fund.

The prospectus amendment, dated April 1 this year, says the Suncorp-owned fund manager and insurer, “regularly reviews its business operations in the light of market developments”.

“In particular, over the 12 months preceding the date this prospectus was amended Asteron has monitored the evolution of the KiwiSaver market and conducted an ongoing assessment of the opportunities that exist within that market,” the amended prospectus says. “While no decision has been made to do so, it is possible that Asteron may make a decision in the future to exit KiwiSaver.”

If Asteron shuts down its KiwiSaver scheme, it would be only the third to do so, after the Australian-owned Eosaver and the union-backed IRIS KiwiSaver schemes closed last year.

According to the Workplace Savings NZ (formerly ASFONZ) website, as at March 31 this year, the Asteron scheme claimed 6,604 members and $35.58 million in funds under management.

The Asteron KiwiSaver scheme was also hit by exposure to the Guardian CashPlus Fund, which was forced to restructure in December 2008 after mortgage components of the fund were frozen.

Subsequently, the Guardian CashPlus Fund was split with the mortgage investments shunted into the Guardian CashPlus Mortgage Units Fund.

The CashPlus Fund, which held the remaining liquid assets, was renamed the Guardian Cash Fund on December 21 last year.

According to the Asteron KiwiSaver prospectus, as at June 30 last year approximately 16% of the Asteron KiwiSaver Capital Fund was invested in the CashPlus Mortgage Units Fund.

By April 1 this year about half of the original $239,456 invested by the Asteron Capital Fund into the CashPlus Mortgage Units Fund had been repaid, the prospectus says.

At June 30 last year, three other Asteron KiwiSaver funds – Conservative, Balanced and Balanced Growth – had collectively invested about $135,000 in the CashPlus Mortgage Units Fund.

Sean Carroll, head of Suncorp NZ, was not available for comment at presstime.

Huljich re-launches non-KiwiSaver funds

Huljich Wealth Management has re-launched two of its non-KiwiSaver funds which were closed down in January and transferred to equivalent funds.

A new prospectus for the Huljich Balanced Fund and the Huljich Australasian Fund was lodged with the Companies Office on March 31 and became public last week.

Both the funds were initially launched in October 2007 just before the global financial crisis hit, but they haven’t been marketed to the public since early 2008.

The funds, which invest in the same assets as the KiwiSaver funds, have instead kept going in the background with private investors.

Huljich Wealth Management (HWM) says there was a question about the old funds qualifying for PIE status because they had been closed to the public and did not meet some of the eligibility criteria.

“Our tax advisers said it was a grey area and together we decided we couldn’t take the risk of building up these funds with investors’ money and then having a PIE tax problem down the line.

“It has cost us some extra money to close the funds and start new ones but we wanted to be 100% sure the funds were PIE compliant and eligible for those tax advantages for our investors.”

The new prospectus also has mention of the Securities Commission investigation into HWM on page 18.

Peter Huljich stepped down as managing director and chief investment officer of Huljich Wealth Management last month after topping up the performance of his funds. He has since been replaced by chairman Don Brash.

The new prospectus states: “Following certain media comments about the Huljich KiwiSaver Scheme the manager (and the trustee of that scheme) have been asked to respond to inquiries from the Government Actuary and the Securities Commission relating to the compensation made by Peter Huljich (the manager’s former managing director) to the KiwiSaver funds.

“The manager believes that such inquiries can be adequately addressed without effect on the managed funds, however at the date of this prospectus the matters have not yet been resolved.”