Investnow Review: Comprehensive Guide to The NZ Investment Platform

This InvestNow review takes a fresh look at the Wellington-based investment platform launched in 2017, explaining how New Zealand investors can access a broad menu of managed funds and build an investment portfolio online. The service is well known but flies under the radar compared with larger brands, raising the question: Is this one of the most effective ways for NZ investors to put money to work?

InvestNow also offers KiwiSaver. For this article, the focus is on non‑KiwiSaver investing via the platform.

To open an account and start investing, you generally select an account type, complete the online application, provide your personal and tax details (including your PIR for PIE funds), and complete identity verification. You then link a nominated New Zealand bank account, add cash to your InvestNow cash balance, and place your first buy order (or set up a Regular Investment Plan to invest automatically).

This Guide Covers: 1) What’s Available; 2) Fees; 3) Other Considerations; 4) Comparisons With Competing Services.

The core of the platform is its fund supermarket, where investors can buy and sell 153 managed funds run by 27 different managers. The platform supports individual, joint, kids, trust, and company account types, and it also has a KiwiSaver offering (not covered in detail here).

Each fund slots into one of eight broad categories:

• Cash And Cash Equivalents — Bank deposits and short‑dated corporate lending. Example: Macquarie NZ Cash Fund.
• New Zealand Fixed Interest — NZ bonds across government and corporates. Example: Harbour NZ Corporate Bond Fund.
• International Fixed Interest — Offshore bond exposure. Example: Russell Investments Global Fixed Interest Fund.
• Australasian Equities — Shares listed in New Zealand and/or Australia. Examples: Macquarie NZ Shares Index Fund (NZ), Smartshares S&P/ASX 200 ETF (Australia), Milford Trans‑Tasman Equity Fund (both).
• International Equities — Global share markets. Examples: Macquarie All Country Global Shares Index Fund, Pathfinder Global Responsibility Fund, Smartshares Automation and Robotics ETF.
• Listed Property — Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Example: Macquarie Australasian Property Index Fund.
• Diversified — Multi‑asset portfolios spanning shares and bonds. Example: InvestNow Foundation Series Growth Fund.
• Other — Specialty assets. Example: Vault International Bitcoin Fund, which tracks the Bitcoin price.

The lineup includes both index‑tracking and stock‑picking approaches:

• Passive — Index funds aiming to mirror market returns over time. Options include Macquarie index funds, two Vanguard funds, and most Smartshares ETFs.
• Active — Managers selecting securities with the goal of beating the market. Examples include Milford, Fisher Funds, Pathfinder, and others.

The selection spans cash, bonds, equities, property, diversified mixes, and even cryptocurrency, enabling both short‑term savers and long‑term investors to tailor a portfolio using either passive building blocks or active strategies.

Our customers broadly fit into one of three equally sized groups: one third hold only passive funds, one third hold only actively managed funds, and the remaining third mix both styles.

At a glance, there are roughly 39 passive funds and 114 active funds, totaling 153.

That snapshot still understates the depth of the range, which includes dividend‑focused, ethical, and thematic options beyond the headline categories.

The platform also aggregates term deposits from six banks (ANZ, Bank of China, BNZ, China Construction Bank, Heartland Bank, SBS Bank). You choose a fixed term from 1 month to 5 years and receive a fixed interest rate for that period, much like going direct to a bank.

Two advantages stand out: you can shop rates across multiple banks without opening separate accounts, and platform‑only promotions can occasionally offer sharper rates than going direct.

Trade‑offs exist. Interest is generally paid at maturity unless the term is 2 years or more, where it may be annual or semi‑annual. Many banks allow more frequent interest options. In addition, these deposits are not PIE products, so interest is taxed at your marginal rate rather than a capped 28% PIE rate.

To compare a bank’s direct offer with a platform option, use a simple calculator to weigh the headline rate and tax treatment.

Managed Funds: The minimum lump sum is $250 per fund. Setting up a Regular Investment Plan drops the threshold to $50 per fund, enabling smaller, automated contributions. For context, investing with some managers directly can require higher minimums (for example, $1,000 with Milford if you go to them directly). There is no minimum to open an account or to keep a cash balance on the platform, and the same fund minimums apply regardless of whether you use an individual, joint, kids, trust, or company account.

Term Deposits: Minimums vary by bank.

This is a self‑directed investment platform. With 153 managed funds, the choice is wide, and research is largely up to you. Remember that each fund already holds a basket of assets, so you do not need many funds to achieve diversification. A simple, well‑balanced mix can be effective.

Further Reading: 6 Ways to Build a Long‑Term Investment Portfolio in New Zealand; How to Choose Which Fund to Invest In on InvestNow and Sharesies; All Articles on Funds.

There are no platform charges for investors: no brokerage, FX, subscription, or transaction fees. The platform is funded via commissions paid by the underlying fund managers for distribution access, not by clipping the investor’s ticket. In general, this also means no separate platform fees for withdrawals, account closure, or inactivity; the costs you do pay tend to be embedded at the product level (for example, fund management fees, performance fees where applicable, and buy/sell spreads).

It is a mutually beneficial model. Managers reach more investors, and investors avoid extra account‑level costs. InvestNow is owned by Implemented Investment Solutions (IIS), which also issues funds, and the platform helps distribute those products alongside third‑party offerings.

While platform access is free, each fund has its own costs. Typical components include:

• Management Fees — Charged as an annual percentage, commonly under 1.50% p.a. for active funds and often under 0.60% p.a. for index funds. Fees are reflected through small daily deductions from the unit price.

• Performance Fees — Some active managers take an additional fee when returns exceed a preset benchmark. Estimated performance fees are typically included in each fund’s disclosed ongoing charges.
• Buy/Sell Spreads — A small percentage applied when entering or exiting a fund, often between 0.05% and 0.5%, to fairly apportion trading costs to transacting investors.

Without buy/sell spreads, investors who remain in a fund would effectively subsidize the trading costs of those entering or leaving through lower net returns.

No platform fee applies to term deposits.

Units purchased through the platform are held by an independent custodian, Adminis. Your assets are ring‑fenced from the platform’s own finances. Although your investments are not registered directly in your name, you remain the beneficial owner and receive all returns and distributions.

On the regulation and “legit” question, the platform operates within New Zealand’s financial markets framework overseen by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). In practice, most of the formal licensing, disclosure, and governance obligations sit with the underlying product providers (for example, managed fund issuers) rather than the platform interface itself.

A useful way to think about investor protection is that it comes from the structure around the products: clear disclosure, defined governance roles, and ongoing oversight of fund managers.

In terms of safety, the biggest “hard” protection is the custody setup: investments are held separately from the platform’s operating finances. That said, ring‑fencing does not remove normal investment risk, and there is no guarantee against market losses simply because an investment is held on a platform.

Further Reading: What Happens to Your Money If InvestNow or Sharesies Go Bust?

You can move eligible holdings into the platform’s custody when the same fund is available there, and later transfer units out to a manager or to your CSN where permitted. Minimum holding rules and specific fund conditions may apply, and the support team can help initiate the process.

Account options include individual, kids, joint, trust, and company structures.

An automated plan can purchase selected funds weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, or twice yearly. It is ideal for dollar‑cost averaging and lowers the minimum per fund to $50. Two limitations to note:

• Allocations under $50 cannot be executed within a single run. You may need to increase your total contribution, adjust frequency, or change target weights.
• Only one active plan can be configured at a time, so you cannot run separate schedules for different groups of funds.

The desktop experience is functional but dated, and there is no dedicated mobile interface, which makes smartphone navigation less friendly than modern app‑style platforms.

For long‑term, set‑and‑forget investors, a flashy UI is not essential, but a refresh would likely help attract and retain more users.

Orders are bundled and processed once each business day. Place an order before noon to transact at that day’s price; orders after midday are executed the next business day at that day’s price. Most funds settle two business days after execution.

Withdrawals are typically a two‑step process: (1) sell units (or wait for a term deposit to mature), then (2) withdraw the resulting cash to your nominated bank account. For managed funds, the practical timing is driven by the daily cut‑off and settlement cycle above, plus the time it takes for a cash withdrawal to be processed and received by your bank. For term deposits, cash is generally available after the deposit matures and the proceeds are credited to your platform cash balance, after which you can withdraw to your bank account.

Most funds support fractional units, so a $50 order can be fully invested even if the unit price does not divide neatly. Smartshares ETFs are the exception, which leads to two quirks:

• The platform withholds the value of two whole units from your order to avoid accidental overspend if the unit price rises before execution.
• Because only whole units can be bought, any leftover amount remains as cash, which can leave a small residual balance even after a purchase.

These behaviours are normal for whole‑unit funds but can create minor cash drag unless you size orders to reduce leftovers.

For income‑paying funds, you can choose one setting for all holdings:

• Automatically reinvest distributions into more units.
• Direct distributions to your platform cash balance.

You cannot mix reinvestment for some funds and cash payments for others at the same time.

Most funds are Multi‑Rate PIEs taxed at your Prescribed Investor Rate (PIR). Tax is generally calculated after 31 March and deducted from your cash balance, or it is adjusted when you sell units.

Exceptions include Smartshares ETFs, which are listed PIEs taxed at a flat 28%, and certain Australian‑domiciled funds (for example, some Vanguard, Russell, India Avenue, Morphic, APN, and Platinum funds), which fall under New Zealand’s FIF rules and require investor‑managed tax reporting.

Interest from term deposits is taxed at your marginal income rate.

Further Reading: What Taxes Do You Need to Pay on Your Investments in New Zealand? InvestNow Tax Guide.

Below is a concise comparison with notable alternatives and where each may fit.

Flint is a similar fund supermarket with a smaller but wide selection of roughly 98 funds from 12 managers and no account or transaction fees. It offers SuperLife funds instead of Smartshares, enabling partial units and PIR‑based taxation rather than a flat 28%. The UI is more modern and mobile‑friendly, but some features like auto‑invest, automatic distribution reinvestment, and joint accounts have been limited at launch.

Sharesies also offers Smartshares ETFs and allows fractional investing from tiny amounts, but fund transactions incur fees up to 0.5%, unlike the platform being reviewed here. Sharesies additionally provides access to NZX, ASX, and US shares and ETFs, plus a smaller range of managed funds.

Buying Smartshares ETFs directly is possible, but several drawbacks compared with using this platform include:

• A $30 setup fee for new customers.
• A higher $500 minimum lump sum.
• Orders processed monthly rather than daily.
• Sales must be executed through a NZX broker, whereas the platform allows selling without extra fees.

The main upside to going direct is having units registered under your CSN, but the custodian model on the platform is robust for most investors.

Simplicity offers three diversified funds (Conservative, Balanced, Growth) and two single‑sector funds (NZ Shares, NZ Bonds). These provide straightforward diversification, but fixed asset mixes reduce flexibility. The InvestNow Foundation Series funds present a comparable low‑cost route with potentially better tax outcomes in some cases due to reduced tax leakage concerns.

Further Reading: Building an Investment Portfolio — Simplicity vs InvestNow; InvestNow Foundation Series vs Simplicity Funds — Tax Leakage an Issue?

Kernel runs a suite of index funds that can substitute for or complement passive options on the platform. Examples include NZ 50 ESG Tilted or NZ 20 as local share alternatives, Global 100 as a global equity core, and NZ Commercial Property for REIT exposure. Kernel also offers unique themes like Electric Vehicle Innovation and Global Clean Energy but currently lacks cash and bond funds for short‑term needs. Core funds are priced at about 0.25% management fee, with an additional $60 annual platform fee above $25,000 invested.

Hatch and Stake specialize in US‑listed securities. A US ETF such as Vanguard S&P 500 ETF can be lower‑cost than local equivalents, but you will face FX and brokerage fees and must handle FIF tax rules. Whether these are better options depends on your preferences for fees, tax admin, and available markets.

Further Reading: Smartshares US 500 (USF) vs Vanguard S&P 500 (VOO) — Which ETF Is Better?

Despite a dated interface and a few idiosyncrasies, the platform provides a straightforward, low‑friction way to invest:

• No account‑level charges. You pay only the underlying fund fees.
• Extensive range across asset classes and styles, including a Bitcoin option.
• Flexibility to build a simple or sophisticated portfolio without picking individual shares.
• Regular Investment Plans automate contributions and lower minimums to $50 per fund.
• PIE structures handle most tax calculations for you.

It shines for long‑term, hands‑off investing and for investors who value breadth and simplicity. However, it is not perfect for everyone:

• No direct share picking. Use a broker if you want to buy individual companies.
• Term deposits may be less flexible than going to a bank, and not all come with PIE tax benefits.
• Those comfortable with offshore brokers may find broader choice and potentially lower fund fees in US markets, with more effort on FX and tax.
• The interface could be more modern and mobile‑friendly, though this is not a dealbreaker for most long‑term users.

A practical fit test is to ask whether you want diversified funds with automation and minimal admin, or whether you value direct share selection and trading features enough to accept extra complexity.