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Mercer NZ KiwiSaver Review (2026)
Mercer is the NZ arm of global manager Mercer, with a seven-fund Mercer KiwiSaver scheme costing 0.32% to 0.93% and 13 managed funds available through InvestNow.
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Brent Coleman
What is Mercer NZ?
Mercer (NZ) Limited is the New Zealand arm of Mercer, a global institutional investment manager. It runs the Mercer KiwiSaver scheme, and it offers managed funds covering global shares, listed infrastructure and real estate, fixed interest and cash, plus a "Responsible" (ESG-screened) range. Many of these are available through InvestNow.
What can you invest in?
There are two ways to invest with Mercer.
The Mercer KiwiSaver scheme has seven funds: Cash, Responsible Conservative, Responsible Moderate, Responsible Balanced, Responsible Growth, Responsible High Growth and Responsible Shares.
Mercer also has 13 managed funds on InvestNow: 10 actively managed and 3 passive index funds. Seven of them are available inside the InvestNow KiwiSaver Scheme. Returns are for the year to 30 June 2026, after fund fees and before tax.
| Fund | Fee | Style | 1yr Return | Risk | InvestNow KiwiSaver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Country Global Shares Index Fund | 0.50% | Passive | 25.55% | 5/7 | Yes |
| Core Global Shares Fund | 1.23% | Active | 30.13% | 5/7 | No |
| Core Hedged Global Shares Fund | 1.43% | Active | 20.97% | 6/7 | No |
| Global Listed Infrastructure Fund | 1.33% | Active | 13.03% | 5/7 | No |
| Global Listed Real Estate Fund | 1.32% | Active | 15.48% | 6/7 | Yes |
| Global Shares Fund | 1.40% | Active | 26.51% | 5/7 | No |
| NZ Cash Fund | 0.34% | Active | 2.76% | 2/7 | Yes |
| NZ Fixed Interest Fund | 0.64% | Active | 5.19% | 3/7 | Yes |
| NZ Shares Passive Fund | 0.44% | Passive | 8.14% | 5/7 | Yes |
| Responsible Balanced Fund | 1.33% | Active | 11.04% | 4/7 | Yes |
| Responsible Global Shares Fund | 1.67% | Active | 25.85% | 5/7 | No |
| Responsible Hedged Global Fixed Interest Index Fund | 0.43% | Passive | 1.09% | 4/7 | Yes |
| Responsible Trans-Tasman Shares Fund | 1.03% | Active | 4.04% | 5/7 | No |
Most of these funds also have a small buy/sell spread of roughly 0.05% to 0.30% each way, depending on the fund.
Fees
The Mercer KiwiSaver scheme is noticeably cheaper than Mercer's managed funds on InvestNow, which are listed with their fees in the table above.
Mercer KiwiSaver scheme:
| Fund | Manager's basic fee | Other mgmt & admin (est.) | Other expenses (est.) | Total annual fund charges (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | 0.28% | 0.04% | n/a | 0.32% |
| Responsible Conservative | 0.42% | 0.07% | n/a | 0.49% |
| Responsible Moderate | 0.59% | 0.06% | 0.01% | 0.66% |
| Responsible Balanced | 0.67% | 0.06% | 0.01% | 0.74% |
| Responsible Growth | 0.76% | 0.06% | 0.01% | 0.83% |
| Responsible High Growth | 0.80% | 0.06% | 0.01% | 0.87% |
| Responsible Shares | 0.88% | 0.05% | n/a | 0.93% |
There are no performance fees on any of the seven funds, and no contribution, establishment, termination or withdrawal fees.
Active or passive?
Mercer offers both. Of its 13 funds on InvestNow, 10 are actively managed and 3 are passive index funds: All Country Global Shares Index, NZ Shares Passive, and Responsible Hedged Global Fixed Interest Index.
The bottom line
Mercer NZ gives you two routes: its own seven-fund KiwiSaver scheme, with fees from 0.32% to 0.93%, or one of the broader fund ranges on InvestNow, covering active and passive funds, global and NZ assets, and a Responsible range. Fees on the InvestNow funds vary widely, so check the specific fund before you invest.