Aggressive KiwiSaver fund

Kernel Emerging Markets Fund

Kernel KiwiSaver Plan On Cam's implementation panel

Kernel Emerging Markets Fund is an aggressive fund in the Kernel KiwiSaver Plan. Its provider discloses a risk indicator of 5 out of 7 and an annual fund charge of 0.45%. This page sets out what the provider has disclosed on the Disclose Register, with the Morningstar return where there is one. It is general information, not a recommendation to join or switch.

Morningstar return: Not yetMorningstar 3 year+ returns are not available for this younger fund
Risk indicator: 5 of 7Disclosed by the provider
Annual fund charge: 0.45%Total, as a share of the amount invested
Fund size: $7.7 million652 investors

Morningstar lists this fund but does not yet report a return for it, because it has too short a record. The provider's own disclosed returns are further down this page.

What the provider says

The Kernel Emerging Markets Fund�s investment objective is to provide a return (before tax, fees and expenses) that closely matches the return on the S&P Emerging Markets BMI (NZD) Index

The fund's own description, as disclosed on the Disclose Register. Fund start date: 11 November 2024.

What the fund invests in

Asset mix
Asset class	Target	Actual
International equities	100.00%	99.74%
Cash and cash equivalents	Not stated	0.26%

Actual allocation as at 30 June 2026. Asset classes held at 0% are left out.

How it is managed

Management style: Passive (index tracking). The fund tracks a market index rather than having a manager pick investments. This describes how the fund is run, not whether one style is better.

The fund is passively managed

From the Kernel KiwiSaver Plan PDS (Equities and Diversified), August 2025, on the Disclose Register (opens in a new tab), read on 31 October 2026.

Passive vs active KiwiSaver funds: what the difference means for you →

Largest investments

The ten largest investments
Investment	Type	Country	Share of fund
SPDR Portfolio Emerging Markets ETF	International equities	US	99.74%
New Zealand Dollar	Cash and cash equivalents	NZ	0.30%
US Dollar	Cash and cash equivalents	US	0.00%

Together 100.0% of the fund. The rest is spread across other holdings.

How spread out is it?

Spread of the fund's holdings
Measure	Disclosed
Holdings the provider lists	10
The ten largest, together	100.0%
Largest single holding	SPDR Portfolio Emerging Markets ETF, 99.7% of the fund

100% of this fund is in one holding. A holding can itself be a fund or an ETF that holds many investments, and the register does not show what is inside it, so read the provider's Product Disclosure Statement for what sits underneath.

The risk indicator measures how much a fund's returns have moved, not how many investments it holds, so it cannot show concentration on its own. Two funds that hold the same index can carry different indicators. Shares are as the provider disclosed them, and a total above 100% is the provider's own figure.

Fees and charges

Fees disclosed by the provider
Charge	Disclosed
Total annual fund charge	0.45%
Manager's basic fee	0.45%
Performance-based fees	0.00%
Other management charges	0.00%
Contribution fee	0.00%
Withdrawal fee	0.00%

Charges as a share of the amount invested. A blank on the register is shown as not stated. How an adviser is paid is separate, and is set out in our disclosure statement.

Returns the provider has disclosed

These are the provider's own figures from its fund update. They are the register's "net" returns, which are after the fund's charges and after tax, so they will not match the Morningstar figures in the headline and in the next section, which are after charges and before tax. Read each on its own terms.

Provider-disclosed returns
Period	This fund
Past year	30.48%
Average a year, since the fund started	21.90%

Year by year, to 31 March
Year	This fund
12 months to 31 March 2026	19.70%

A return says what happened and not what will.

Returns reported by Morningstar

Morningstar 3 year+ returns are not available for this younger fund.

See the full Morningstar returns comparison → (opens in a new tab)

Other details

Other disclosed details
Item	Disclosed
Asset liquidity ratio	100.00%
Debt ratio	2.04%
Provider last updated this fund	4 August 2026
Reporting period ended	30 June 2026

Where this comes from

Fund details are from the Disclose Register (opens in a new tab), read on 31 October 2026. The Morningstar return is from the same report as the Morningstar returns comparison. Read the provider's current Product Disclosure Statement before you decide.

Cam compares KiwiSaver providers and funds across the wider NZ market, and a fund appearing here, or on his implementation panel, is not a recommendation. Whether a fund suits you depends on your goals, timeframe and comfort with risk. How Solid Steele is paid depends on the provider and is set out in the disclosure statement. A free KiwiSaver session is the way to see how it applies to you.

See every open fund in the Kernel KiwiSaver Plan →

Other funds in the Kernel KiwiSaver Plan

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