Kiwisaver confusion

It would be fair to say that KiwiSaver has had its worst month since the Global Financial Crisis. A correction was well-overdue; we just didn’t think it would be quite so extreme.

Some people have panicked and switched to a conservative fund. Some have stopped contributing. The majority have probably done nothing, other than worry.

Mark Lynch of Excelins, an Ōmokoroabased Registered Financial Adviser, says that doing nothing is the right thing to do. Worrying won’t suddenly make your balance jump up. In his experience, people say that they understand investment risk - until that risk becomes a reality.

“For a generation of people, this is their first experience of a market correction”, says Mark. “I don’t use words like crash or slump. They’re emotive words that are used in the media, and they really don’t help. I’ve been through four of these in my lifetime and I’ve learnt two things; corrections bring opportunities and bad times don’t last.

“I’ve seen a lot of comments on social media about people who’ve “lost” $7,000, or $20,000. Many are too scared to look at their balance. I have no idea what has happened to my KiwiSaver balance, as I just don’t look. I know that I’m in the right fund and I don’t need it for at least 10 years.”

Most of us non-essential workers have time on our hands. By the middle of April we’ll have done all those outstanding projects, so what next? How about taking the time to really understand how KiwiSaver works, what the longterm situation is and how you can make the most of this correction?

Mark will be running two KiwiSaver webinars on Wednesday 15th April, one at 10am and one at 6pm. See advert for registration details.