Generate KiwiSaver Scheme

Generate KiwiSaver Scheme

Generate launched in 2012 under the Generate Investment Management Limited umbrella, entering a KiwiSaver market then dominated by major Australian banks and legacy New Zealand institutions. The firm was founded as a specialist KiwiSaver provider rather than a banking adjunct, which shapes its competitive posture: a focused retail platform that sells directly to consumers, bypassing traditional advisory channels. This structure allows Generate to strip out intermediary commissions and concentrate on a streamlined fee model uncommon among New Zealand default providers. The scheme's investment philosophy centers on long-horizon growth assets with a pronounced tilt toward private markets and real assets. Generate allocates significantly to unlisted property, infrastructure, and private equity exposures — an unusual posture for a KiwiSaver scheme, where most peers default to liquid listed equities and fixed income. The growth fund, which attracts the majority of member assets, holds direct interests in New Zealand commercial real estate, infrastructure projects and global private assets accessed through institutional partnerships. Reported allocations include New Zealand property assets and infrastructure commitments diversified across transport and energy assets, positioning the portfolio for inflation-linked returns. Generate has grown its membership base predominantly through digital acquisition and word-of-mouth, rather than employer default selection. Total funds under management have not been publicly disclosed in recent periods. The firm operates from Auckland and maintains a lean organizational footprint consistent with its technology-forward operating model. In February 2024 Generate confirmed its commitment to ethical investing by excluding companies involved in cluster munitions and nuclear explosive devices from its portfolios, aligning with New Zealand's broader legislative posture on responsible investment (per the firm's official communications, February 2024). The structural differentiator is Generate's hybrid product architecture: a regulated KiwiSaver scheme governed by the Financial Markets Authority that invests like an institutional asset owner. By concentrating member contributions into illiquid real assets and private markets — asset classes typically reserved for sovereign wealth funds and large superannuation schemes — Generate offers retail investors exposure to a return profile that mirrors institutional portfolios. This design, coupled with a direct-to-consumer distribution model, distinguishes Generate from both bank-owned KiwiSaver providers and boutique active managers in the New Zealand market.