THE STORY INSIDE YOUR KIWISAVER FUND

As a KiwiSaver member, your money is invested in an investment fund. That fund is managed by your chosen fund manager and the fund will have certain rules around what it’s trying to achieve and the types of companies and assets it will invest in. That’s the boring part.

The interesting part is that underneath all the financial jargon, there are some truly inspiring people and companies that you are backing with your hard-earned savings.

From ambitious local companies taking on the world to the established global juggernauts, and everything in between. Your KiwiSaver fund will likely be lled with brands you use every day as well as companies you haven’t heard of (yet).

Take for example, the Milford KiwiSaver Plan Aggressive Fund. Our team actively searches for exceptional companies that are attractively valued and operating in growing industries both locally and around the world.

HAVE YOU HEARD OF INTUITIVE SURGICAL?

If you’re in the Milford KiwiSaver Aggressive Fund then you’re backing this company. It’s the global pioneer in robotic-assisted surgery, used in New Zealand, as well as 66 other countries, and it has helped perform over 8.5 million procedures globally. In addition, Intuitive Surgical is aiming to support early lung cancer detection with their robotic-assisted endoscopy platform. This technology enables biopsies of small, previously hard-toreach areas of the lung to support earlier lung cancer detection. Milford Investment Analyst Deborah Lambie said, “One of the reasons we invest in Intuitive Surgical is because its technologies, which are rapidly growing in use around the world, make it easier for surgeons to achieve the best outcomes for their patients. Just last year, 1.2 million individuals underwent surgery that utilised Intuitive Surgical’s ‘Da Vinci’ robot, and there is a growing body of clinical evidence showing that robotic-assisted surgery sees less blood loss, shorter length of hospital stay and a lower rate of complications compared with standard laparascopic surgery.”

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU BOUGHT SOMETHING ONLINE?

Do you enjoy supporting small businesses? Chances are you’ve purchased from an online store powered by Shopify’s e-commerce software. Shopify is currently a core investment for members in the Milford KiwiSaver Aggressive Fund and what makes this company so interesting, is how it’s empowering a generation of entrepreneurs and small businesses. Founded in Canada in 2006, it has grown rapidly to hold roughly a third of the global market for setting up a store online. By making e-commerce easier for small businesses and entrepreneurs, Shopify has helped countless people turn their passions into pro t. Shopify’s model also empowers independent web developers to create apps which store owners can purchase and plug into their online stores. This leads to better and more specialised solutions for each online store’s website, whilst simultaneously giving independent web developers the chance to create pro table businesses themselves. It’s a win-win-win.

But it’s not just an overseas story. Deloitte’s April 2021 Global Economic Impact Study of Shopify shows the software giant’s platform created 13,000 jobs in New Zealand during the pandemic and $3.4b in economic activity. It nished last year with an impressive 17,000 New Zealand stores on its platform. Lambie said, “One of the things we like about Shopify is its mission to ‘democratise e-commerce’ and allow smaller players the ability to compete with larger players online. The e-commerce infrastructure Shopify provides would have previously only been available to companies of a certain scale that could a ord it. Now, Shopify’s e-commerce infrastructure is available to any company, right from a startup in someone’s garage, to the local supermarket, all the way through to larger companies looking expand their online presence.”

These stories are just the tip of the iceberg. KiwiSaver funds generally invest in dozens, if not hundreds of companies, so you can be sure your money is contributing to a wide range of initiatives and causes.

At Milford, we’ve always looked to invest in the best companies. It’s clear to us that the best companies are those committed to sustainable practices. Over time, these are the businesses we expect to deliver the best outcomes for employees, customers and shareholders.