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About the Guardians

The Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation (the Guardians) invests government contributions into two funds: the NZ Super Fund and the Elevate NZ Venture Fund.

The NZ Super Fund is a global portfolio of investments that will help pay for the increased cost of universal superannuation payments (New Zealand Superannuation) in the future.

The Elevate NZ Venture Fund is a smaller fund that supports investment in New Zealand companies that have moved beyond the start-up, or ‘angel’, investment phase, and need capital for the next stage of their development.

Purpose and mandate

By serving its mandate, the Fund adds to Crown wealth, improves the ability of future governments to pay for superannuation and reduces the tax burden of the cost of superannuation on future generations of New Zealanders.

Animation Video Transcript – Our Purpose

Hi, I’m Joe and I just turned eight.

I love playing with my Grandpa. Grandpa always has time to play with me.

He says that’s because he is retired and gets his ‘super’ or pension payments from the Government.

Mum says that the taxes she and dad pay go towards paying for Grandpa’s pension, and when they retire the Government will give them a pension too.

But by the time my parents and I retire, there will be a lot fewer working people for every person in retirement.

With fewer working people to pay taxes, the Government may need to increase taxes by a lot, to continue to make pension payments to all retired New Zealanders.

That’s where the NZ Super Fund comes in. By investing wisely today, the Fund is building a nest egg to help make pension payments more affordable for the Government and for future taxpayers like me and my friends. \

Having this nest egg will help ensure we can retire and get a pension just like Grandpa does today.

New Zealand Super Fund. Investing today to help meet tomorrow’s retirement needs.

The NZ Super Fund story

Created in 2001 after an extensive public and Parliamentary debate, the Fund is a way for New Zealand to save now in order to make future superannuation costs more affordable. It’s needed because New Zealand’s population is getting older.

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Governance

Sound governance is critical to maintaining stakeholder and public confidence in the Guardians and the Fund. As an autonomous Crown entity, the Government has given the Guardians the powers and responsibilities necessary to fulfil its mandate. Hence, the Guardians is legally separate from the Crown, which means although we are still accountable to the Government, we have operational independence regarding investment decisions and are, instead, overseen by an independent Board.

Management

The Guardians, which has been recognised globally for its governance, transparency and innovation, is managed by a team of Auckland-based professionals. Functions span investment, portfolio completion, technology, finance and investment operations, risk, internal audit, people and culture, and corporate affairs. 

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Reporting

We have adopted an approach of being as transparent as commercial sensitivities allow about our investment approach, the Fund's performance and our organisation in general. We aim to keep our stakeholders well informed about what we do and why we do it to maintain their confidence in the Guardians and Fund.