Where a company has multiple ethical concerns, the total concerns percentage counts this investment once.
The average total concerns of all funds of the same risk profile is weighted by the funds' investment values.
The average total concerns of all KiwiSaver conservative funds is 3.58%.
Where companies, through their products or operations, are involved in environmental degradation e.g., pollution, chemical spills.
Fonterra ranks as the fifth largest source of greenhouse gas emissions among agri-food companies globally. This position is reflective of the heavy environmental footprint of the dairy industry, notably of methane (GHG) produced by dairy herds and other harm from intensive dairy farming practices such as through high nitrogen runoff into rivers, which flow into oceans.
Where companies, through their products or operations, are involved in environmental degradation e.g., pollution, chemical spills.
Collectively the Coca-Cola related entities produce the most plastic rubbish in our oceans at 3 million tons of plastic packaging annually, which has devastating impacts on our oceans, wreaking havoc on wildlife and sending plastic particles into the food chain. Coca-Cola has also been subject to several lawsuits relating to marketing claims about the sustainability of its products.
Where companies, through their products or operations, are involved in environmental degradation e.g., pollution, chemical spills.
Manufacture and bottle Coca-Cola beverages under licence. Collectively the Coca-Cola related entities produce the most plastic rubbish in our oceans at 3 million tons of plastic packaging annually, which has devastating impacts on our oceans, wreaking havoc on wildlife and sending plastic particles into the food chain.
Where companies, through their products or operations, are involved in environmental degradation e.g., pollution, chemical spills.
The world’s second largest source of plastic garbage in the world’s oceans, which has devastating impacts on our oceans, wreaking havoc on wildlife and sending plastic particles into the food chain. Alongside other large companies who use plastics, PepsiCo appeared to lobby against some improvements propopsed by the Global Plastics Treaty.
Where companies source their power generation from fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal) to generate electricity.
One of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest electric utilities companies. Operates three thermal power stations that employ gas and diesel. In FY2024, 81% of the energy Contact generated came from renewable energy (lower than in 2023 due to a dry winter). However, at the end of 2024 Contact opened a major new geothermal renewable facility - the Tauhara plant. It is considered to be on a climate change pathway aligned with 1.5°C of global temperature rise.
Where companies source their power generation from fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal) to generate electricity.
Where companies are involved in the production of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal, shale oil) including exploration, production (including core services), storage, transport (except by rail) and refining.
Produces electricity from plants and distributes gas. Is expanding its portfolio of renewable assets (wind & solar farms + hydro) and options to reduce emissions from Huntly (Battery technology and biomass use). However, in 2023 35% of revenue came from fossil fuel generation - Huntley Power Station (Coal & Gas) and sales of gas from the Kupe field.
Where companies source their power generation from fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal) to generate electricity.
Where companies are involved in the production of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal, shale oil) including exploration, production (including core services), storage, transport (except by rail) and refining.
Where companies, through their products or operations, cause harm to animals e.g., animal entertainment (such as marine parks and rodeos), livestock exports, whale meat etc.
Where companies are involved in the production or retail of fur & speciality leather products (where animals are raised purely for skins).
Where companies are involved in significant harm to individuals or communities, through the unsafe nature of their products or delivery of services and inadequate response to evidence of harm.
The world’s largest social network (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp). Company has faced claims and legal actions due to mental health harm (notably to young people), breaches of user privacy / data rights, and the spread of misinformation. Inadequate moderating in non-English speaking countries (e.g. Myanmar) allowed the platform to be used to incite ethnic violence. Removal of content moderation from strt of 2025 increases risk of social and political harm.
Where a company is complicit in its products or services enabling violations of the Geneva Convention and infringement of the rights of individuals in war or conflict situations.
Develops and operates Israel’s Population Registry System which holds information on residents of Occupied Palestinian Territories. The registry enables control of work and travel permits for Palestinians. This supports severe violations of human rights including freedom of movement and data privacy rights.
Where the actions of companies have violated global standards on labour rights and freedoms; including poor treatment of workers, child and forced labour, and modern slavery.
A ride and food delivery service provider. As Uber considers its drivers to be contractors, this limits their employee rights to the minimum wage, and providing the same benefits and rights as traditional taxi companies.
Where low standards of ethics create harm because of poor culture and inappropriate incentives, inadequate governance and oversight, and incidents of bribery and corruption.
Tesla has been involved in violations across human rights categories including business ethics due to CEO leadership style, limiting of shareholder rights and poor governance. There have also been big safety and human rights concerns with Tesla’s supply chain and production line.
Where the actions of companies have violated global standards on human rights and freedoms including customary rights of indigenous people.
Thermo Fisher Scientific sells scientific instruments and laboratory equipment, diagnostics consumables, and life science reagents. Thermo Fisher DNA testing kits have been linked to surveillance and discriminatory purposes by the legal authorities in Xinjiang (a region of China) for monitoring and tracking the Muslim Uyghur ethnic group and other minorities. Evidence that DNA sequencing products continue to be distributed in China, despite the company announcing it would halt sales to the region.
Where companies are involved in the manufacturing or retail of firearms, including guns, rifles, pistols, or components or services thereof.
The USA’s largest retailer by sales, selling a variety of general merchandise and grocery items. Walmart retails shotguns, pistols and ammunition at some of its stores in the USA, as well as components for firearms such as scopes (less than 1% given scale of other lines). Walmart operates stricter controls on firearms than required by US federal law.
We invest in fossil fuel companies because energy is an essential resource for modern life, and we believe it is better to invest in the companies that are relative ESG leaders in the sector rather than ignoring the sector entirely.
We take a holistic approach to assessing a company's prospective ESG leadership, including the carbon intensity of current oil production facilities, initiatives to reduce this carbon intensity to help meet net zero goals, capital allocation policies including for green energy initiatives, and ESG scores on both the MSCI and Sustainalytics ratings scales.
The Stepping Stones Growth 76+ years old investment option aims to provide a modest return over the short term. It invests in an actively managed portfolio made up largely of income assets with a small allocation of growth assets. Volatility is likely to be low to medium. Returns will vary and may be low or negative at times.
| Value | $621k NZD |
| Period of data report | 30th Sept. 2025 |
| Members | 3 |
| Fund started | 16th May 2022 |
| Total annual fund fees | 1.09% |
| Total performance based fees | 0.0% |
| Manager's basic fee | 1.06% |
| Other management and administration charges | 0.03% |
| Total other charges | 36.0 |
| Total other charges currency | NZD |
|
Sam Goldwater |
Currently: Chief Investment Officer/Investment Committee Member/Executive Director (12 years, 6 months)
|
|
Daniel Frost |
Currently: Portfolio Manager - Property & Infrastructure, Australasian Equities (7 years, 8 months)
|
|
Andrew Bolland |
Currently: Portfolio Manager - Property & Infrastructure, Australasian Equities (6 years, 3 months)
|
|
Ayrton Oliver |
Currently: Portfolio Manager - Fixed Income (4 years, 6 months)
|
|
Nathan Field |
Currently: Portfolio Manager - Global Equities (2 years, 7 months)
|
This information has been sourced from the quarterly data that each KiwiSaver fund has filed with Disclose register to 30th Sept. 2025.
Past annual returns for this fund are after fees and taxes. Please note that higher past returns do not always mean higher future returns.
| Year | Market Average | Fund Annual Return |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.91% | 4.34% |
| 2024 | 6.48% | 6.63% |
The market average is the average return for funds of the same risk category, sourced from the Commission for Financial Capability's Sorted website. The fund information has been sourced from the quarterly data that each KiwiSaver fund has filed with Disclose register to 30th Sept. 2025.
ASB NZ Dollar Cash Account
New Zealand Cash and Equivalents A1
Kāinga Ora Sep 2035 Bonds
New Zealand NZ Fixed Interest AAA
Kāinga Ora Apr 2030 Bonds
New Zealand NZ Fixed Interest AAA
Nzlga Apr 2033 Bonds
New Zealand NZ Fixed Interest AAA
Watercare Services Sep 2030 Bonds
New Zealand NZ Fixed Interest
NZ Govt Bond May 2030 Bonds
New Zealand NZ Fixed Interest AAA
Nzlga May 2031 Bonds
New Zealand NZ Fixed Interest AAA
NZ Govt Inflation Sep 2035 Bonds
New Zealand NZ Fixed Interest AAA
Transpower Mar 2032 Bonds
New Zealand NZ Fixed Interest AA
Auckland International Airport Dec 2031 Bonds
New Zealand NZ Fixed Interest A-
| Type | Target | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and Cash Equivalents | 5.0% | 5.38% |
| New Zealand Fixed Interest | 48.75% | 62.15% |
| International Fixed Interest | 26.25% | 12.37% |
| Australasian Equities | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| International Equities | 13.0% | 13.17% |
| Listed Properties | 0.7% | 1.55% |
| Unlisted Properties | 0.0% | 0.08% |
| Other | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Commodities | 0.0% | 0.0% |
How the money in this fund is invested by asset type.
This information has been sourced from the quarterly data that each KiwiSaver fund has filed with Disclose register to 30th Sept. 2025.
This data is compiled by Mindful Money from the fund information and portfolios
that each
KiwiSaver
fund has
filed with the Disclose register to 30th Sept. 2025 and Mindful Money
analysis of funds within those portfolios. The list of companies of concern has
been drawn from ratings agencies and public sources, including the Norwegian
Sovereign Fund, NZ Super Fund, Sustainalytics and research organisations.
Please note that companies may breach more than one of these areas of
concern.
The listing of companies of concern is based on definitions used in Mindful Money's
methodology. These definitions may
be different from the exclusions policy and definitions applied by the fund provider.
Mindful Money uses the term Mindful Funds as our standard
for ethical investment and responsible investment. This does not imply that
other funds are unethical or that the fund providers that do not meet these
standards are unethical providers.
Where companies, through their products or operations, are involved in environmental degradation e.g., pollution, chemical spills.
Fonterra ranks as the fifth largest source of greenhouse gas emissions among agri-food companies globally. This position is reflective of the heavy environmental footprint of the dairy industry, notably of methane (GHG) produced by dairy herds and other harm from intensive dairy farming practices such as through high nitrogen runoff into rivers, which flow into oceans.
Where companies, through their products or operations, are involved in environmental degradation e.g., pollution, chemical spills.
Collectively the Coca-Cola related entities produce the most plastic rubbish in our oceans at 3 million tons of plastic packaging annually, which has devastating impacts on our oceans, wreaking havoc on wildlife and sending plastic particles into the food chain. Coca-Cola has also been subject to several lawsuits relating to marketing claims about the sustainability of its products.
Where companies, through their products or operations, are involved in environmental degradation e.g., pollution, chemical spills.
Manufacture and bottle Coca-Cola beverages under licence. Collectively the Coca-Cola related entities produce the most plastic rubbish in our oceans at 3 million tons of plastic packaging annually, which has devastating impacts on our oceans, wreaking havoc on wildlife and sending plastic particles into the food chain.
Where companies, through their products or operations, are involved in environmental degradation e.g., pollution, chemical spills.
The world’s second largest source of plastic garbage in the world’s oceans, which has devastating impacts on our oceans, wreaking havoc on wildlife and sending plastic particles into the food chain. Alongside other large companies who use plastics, PepsiCo appeared to lobby against some improvements propopsed by the Global Plastics Treaty.
Where companies source their power generation from fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal) to generate electricity.
One of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest electric utilities companies. Operates three thermal power stations that employ gas and diesel. In FY2024, 81% of the energy Contact generated came from renewable energy (lower than in 2023 due to a dry winter). However, at the end of 2024 Contact opened a major new geothermal renewable facility - the Tauhara plant. It is considered to be on a climate change pathway aligned with 1.5°C of global temperature rise.
Where companies source their power generation from fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal) to generate electricity.
Where companies are involved in the production of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal, shale oil) including exploration, production (including core services), storage, transport (except by rail) and refining.
Produces electricity from plants and distributes gas. Is expanding its portfolio of renewable assets (wind & solar farms + hydro) and options to reduce emissions from Huntly (Battery technology and biomass use). However, in 2023 35% of revenue came from fossil fuel generation - Huntley Power Station (Coal & Gas) and sales of gas from the Kupe field.
Where companies source their power generation from fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal) to generate electricity.
Where companies are involved in the production of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal, shale oil) including exploration, production (including core services), storage, transport (except by rail) and refining.
Where companies, through their products or operations, cause harm to animals e.g., animal entertainment (such as marine parks and rodeos), livestock exports, whale meat etc.
Where companies are involved in the production or retail of fur & speciality leather products (where animals are raised purely for skins).
Where companies are involved in significant harm to individuals or communities, through the unsafe nature of their products or delivery of services and inadequate response to evidence of harm.
The world’s largest social network (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp). Company has faced claims and legal actions due to mental health harm (notably to young people), breaches of user privacy / data rights, and the spread of misinformation. Inadequate moderating in non-English speaking countries (e.g. Myanmar) allowed the platform to be used to incite ethnic violence. Removal of content moderation from strt of 2025 increases risk of social and political harm.
Where a company is complicit in its products or services enabling violations of the Geneva Convention and infringement of the rights of individuals in war or conflict situations.
Develops and operates Israel’s Population Registry System which holds information on residents of Occupied Palestinian Territories. The registry enables control of work and travel permits for Palestinians. This supports severe violations of human rights including freedom of movement and data privacy rights.
Where the actions of companies have violated global standards on labour rights and freedoms; including poor treatment of workers, child and forced labour, and modern slavery.
A ride and food delivery service provider. As Uber considers its drivers to be contractors, this limits their employee rights to the minimum wage, and providing the same benefits and rights as traditional taxi companies.
Where low standards of ethics create harm because of poor culture and inappropriate incentives, inadequate governance and oversight, and incidents of bribery and corruption.
Tesla has been involved in violations across human rights categories including business ethics due to CEO leadership style, limiting of shareholder rights and poor governance. There have also been big safety and human rights concerns with Tesla’s supply chain and production line.
Where the actions of companies have violated global standards on human rights and freedoms including customary rights of indigenous people.
Thermo Fisher Scientific sells scientific instruments and laboratory equipment, diagnostics consumables, and life science reagents. Thermo Fisher DNA testing kits have been linked to surveillance and discriminatory purposes by the legal authorities in Xinjiang (a region of China) for monitoring and tracking the Muslim Uyghur ethnic group and other minorities. Evidence that DNA sequencing products continue to be distributed in China, despite the company announcing it would halt sales to the region.
Where companies are involved in the manufacturing or retail of firearms, including guns, rifles, pistols, or components or services thereof.
The USA’s largest retailer by sales, selling a variety of general merchandise and grocery items. Walmart retails shotguns, pistols and ammunition at some of its stores in the USA, as well as components for firearms such as scopes (less than 1% given scale of other lines). Walmart operates stricter controls on firearms than required by US federal law.
We invest in fossil fuel companies because energy is an essential resource for modern life, and we believe it is better to invest in the companies that are relative ESG leaders in the sector rather than ignoring the sector entirely.
We take a holistic approach to assessing a company's prospective ESG leadership, including the carbon intensity of current oil production facilities, initiatives to reduce this carbon intensity to help meet net zero goals, capital allocation policies including for green energy initiatives, and ESG scores on both the MSCI and Sustainalytics ratings scales.
The Stepping Stones Growth 76+ years old investment option aims to provide a modest return over the short term. It invests in an actively managed portfolio made up largely of income assets with a small allocation of growth assets. Volatility is likely to be low to medium. Returns will vary and may be low or negative at times.
| Value | $621k NZD |
| Period of data report | 30th Sept. 2025 |
| Members | 3 |
| Fund started | 16th May 2022 |
| Total annual fund fees | 1.09% |
| Total performance based fees | 0.0% |
| Manager's basic fee | 1.06% |
| Other management and administration charges | 0.03% |
| Total other charges | 36.0 |
| Total other charges currency | NZD |
|
Sam Goldwater |
Currently: Chief Investment Officer/Investment Committee Member/Executive Director (12 years, 6 months)
|
|
Daniel Frost |
Currently: Portfolio Manager - Property & Infrastructure, Australasian Equities (7 years, 8 months)
|
|
Andrew Bolland |
Currently: Portfolio Manager - Property & Infrastructure, Australasian Equities (6 years, 3 months)
|
|
Ayrton Oliver |
Currently: Portfolio Manager - Fixed Income (4 years, 6 months)
|
|
Nathan Field |
Currently: Portfolio Manager - Global Equities (2 years, 7 months)
|
This information has been sourced from the quarterly data that each KiwiSaver fund has filed with Disclose register to 30th Sept. 2025.
Past annual returns for this fund are after fees and taxes. Please note that higher past returns do not always mean higher future returns.
| Year | Market Average | Fund Annual Return |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.91% | 4.34% |
| 2024 | 6.48% | 6.63% |
The market average is the average return for funds of the same risk category, sourced from the Commission for Financial Capability's Sorted website. The fund information has been sourced from the quarterly data that each KiwiSaver fund has filed with Disclose register to 30th Sept. 2025.
ASB NZ Dollar Cash Account
New Zealand Cash and Equivalents A1
Kāinga Ora Sep 2035 Bonds
New Zealand NZ Fixed Interest AAA
Kāinga Ora Apr 2030 Bonds
New Zealand NZ Fixed Interest AAA
Nzlga Apr 2033 Bonds
New Zealand NZ Fixed Interest AAA
Watercare Services Sep 2030 Bonds
New Zealand NZ Fixed Interest
NZ Govt Bond May 2030 Bonds
New Zealand NZ Fixed Interest AAA
Nzlga May 2031 Bonds
New Zealand NZ Fixed Interest AAA
NZ Govt Inflation Sep 2035 Bonds
New Zealand NZ Fixed Interest AAA
Transpower Mar 2032 Bonds
New Zealand NZ Fixed Interest AA
Auckland International Airport Dec 2031 Bonds
New Zealand NZ Fixed Interest A-
| Type | Target | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and Cash Equivalents | 5.0% | 5.38% |
| New Zealand Fixed Interest | 48.75% | 62.15% |
| International Fixed Interest | 26.25% | 12.37% |
| Australasian Equities | 6.3% | 5.3% |
| International Equities | 13.0% | 13.17% |
| Listed Properties | 0.7% | 1.55% |
| Unlisted Properties | 0.0% | 0.08% |
| Other | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Commodities | 0.0% | 0.0% |
How the money in this fund is invested by asset type.
This information has been sourced from the quarterly data that each KiwiSaver fund has filed with Disclose register to 30th Sept. 2025.
This data is compiled by Mindful Money from the fund information and portfolios
that each
KiwiSaver
fund has
filed with the Disclose register to 30th Sept. 2025 and Mindful Money
analysis of funds within those portfolios. The list of companies of concern has
been drawn from ratings agencies and public sources, including the Norwegian
Sovereign Fund, NZ Super Fund, Sustainalytics and research organisations.
Please note that companies may breach more than one of these areas of
concern.
The listing of companies of concern is based on definitions used in Mindful Money's
methodology. These definitions may
be different from the exclusions policy and definitions applied by the fund provider.
Mindful Money uses the term Mindful Funds as our standard
for ethical investment and responsible investment. This does not imply that
other funds are unethical or that the fund providers that do not meet these
standards are unethical providers.
