Simplicity NZ Cash Fund is a cash managed fund operated by Simplicity; PIE-structured; FMA risk indicator 2/7. Headline terms: annual fund charge 0.10% · minimum investment NZ$1 · distributions no distributions (accumulating). Compared with 4 other same-category funds on this site, the 0.10% annual fund charge sits below the same-category median of 0.44%.
PIE tax treatment — capped at your PIR (max 28%)
This fund is a Portfolio Investment Entity (PIE) under Subpart HM of the Income Tax Act 2007. Income is taxed at your Prescribed Investor Rate (10.5% / 17.5% / 28%), not your marginal income-tax rate. The fund manager calculates and pays the tax on your behalf — when your PIR is correct, you usually don't need to declare PIE income in your annual tax return. See our PIR guide and PIE tax basics for the full picture, or use the PIR calculator to confirm your rate.
Annual fund charge
0.12%
vs peer avg 0.65%
Risk indicator
2/7
1 = lower risk · 7 = higher risk
5-year return p.a.
Less than 5 years of data
peer avg 1.17%
Fund size
NZ$91.5m
0% growth · 100% income
The NZ Cash Fund invests in a portfolio managed by us of cash, short term bonds and other debt securities. Its objective is to provide stable returns over all periods. This option is suited to investors seeking low volatility of returns.
How Simplicity NZ Cash Fund differs
Factual contrasts drawn from the PDS, SIPO and latest portfolio holdings — no opinion.
- Benchmark
- Bloomberg NZ Bond Bank Bill Index
- Top 3 holdings
- Cash at bank (10.6%) · Kiwibank FRN 13 June 2028 (8.3%) · Westpac FRN 6 July 2026 (8.0%)
Key facts
Fund start date
28 April 2023
Min. investment
NZ$1
Distributions
No distributions (accumulating)
Tax structure
PIE
Capped at your PIR (max 28%)
Investment policy
From the Statement of Investment Policy and Objectives (SIPO).
Responsible-investment approach
A negative screening approach is adopted for all portfolios, based on excluded business activities and behaviour-related exclusions. For overseas investments, external manager DWS applies custom broad-based market indices subject to responsible investment screening overlay.
Derivatives policy
Derivatives are only permitted for forward foreign exchange contracts to hedge currencies and interest rate swaps to hedge interest rate risk of community housing bonds. Derivatives are only used if there is no cost-effective means to gain an essential investment exposure using physical securities.
Reading between the lines
Plain-English summary of the scheme's disclosed conflicts and performance-fee mechanics, drawn from the OMI and PDS. Factual restatement — no opinion.
- Simplicity NZ Limited acknowledges a conflict of interest because investor funds flow from the KiwiSaver and Investment Funds schemes into a Wholesale Scheme managed by its wholly owned subsidiary SIML, creating a related-party investment chain.
- Simplicity discloses that the Property Fund invests exclusively in unlisted shares of Simplicity Living Limited, a company 100% controlled by Simplicity through SIML, meaning the fund has no diversification outside this single related-party asset.
- Simplicity acknowledges that one of its directors sits on the Simplicity Living board and that Simplicity itself sets the valuation model parameters used to price those unlisted shares, combining shareholder representation and valuation control in the same organisation.
- Simplicity states it manages these conflicts through a Conflicts of Interest Policy requiring a certificate confirming all related-party transactions are on an arm's-length basis, comply with investment guidelines, and are in investors' interests.
Generated 2026-05-28 from Simplicity Wholesale Property Fund (Simplicity KiwiSaver Scheme and Simplicity Investment Funds Scheme) OMI (dated 2025-06-24). The verbatim disclosures appear in full below — this summary is a navigation aid, not a substitute.
Scheme disclosures
From the Other Material Information (OMI) document. Scheme-level — applies to every fund in this scheme.
Trustee / Supervisor
Public Trust
Custodian
Simplicity Investment Nominees Limited (nominee for Property Fund's shareholding in Simplicity Living Limited)
Conflicts disclosed
4
In OMI
Conflicts of interest disclosed in OMI
- Simplicity NZ Limited manages the Schemes whose funds invest in the Wholesale Scheme managed by its wholly owned subsidiary SIML, creating a related-party investment relationship.
- The Property Fund invests exclusively in unlisted shares of Simplicity Living Limited, which is an associated person of Simplicity and wholly controlled (100% voting shares) by Simplicity through SIML.
- A Simplicity director sits on the board of Simplicity Living, representing both the shareholder (Property Fund) and underlying investors, while Simplicity also sets the valuation model parameters (including the Standard Development Margin and marketability discount factor) used to value Simplicity Living shares.
- Simplicity has a Conflicts of Interest Policy requiring all related-party transactions between the Schemes and the Wholesale Scheme to be made under a certificate confirming arm's-length basis, compliance with SIPOs and investment guidelines, and that they are in investors' interests.
How this fund compares to peers
Mechanical comparison vs the 5 other cash funds in our cohort. Source: FMA Disclose register via Sorted Smart Investor. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
Annual fund charge
0.12%
Category median: 0.26%
Cheaper than 90% of peers
Fund size
NZ$91.5m
Category median: NZ$13.3m
70th percentile by AUM
Illustrative 5y fee impact on a sample balance of $10,000
$60
Compounded charge over 5 years (excl. returns)
$69 less than peer median
Read the full fee-vs-peers breakdown →
Mechanical scores only — no opinion or recommendation. Different funds suit different investor goals. ManagedFundsNZ is not a Financial Advice Provider. Read the current PDS and consider speaking to a licensed financial adviser.
Top 10 holdings
As at the latest published quarterly fund update (via Sorted Smart Investor).
| Holding | % of fund |
|---|---|
| $ Cash at bank | 10.57% |
 Kiwibank FRN 13 June 2028 | 8.27% |
 Westpac FRN 6 July 2026 | 8.01% |
| Kiwibank FRN 15 March 2028 | 6.68% |
| HN Housing NZ 2.247% 5 October 2026 | 5.32% |
| TT Tax Traders CP 26 June 2026 | 3.97% |
| TT Tax Traders CP 27 May 2026 | 3.32% |
| AC Auckland City Council Bond 10 August 2026 | 2.69% |
| WC Watercare CP 14 April 2026 | 2.66% |
| DC Dunedin CC CP 15 June 2026 | 2.66% |
Documents
Every dated PDS, quarterly fund update and full-portfolio holdings file. Linked from the FMA Disclose register via Sorted Smart Investor.
- NZ CASH FUND (FND43090) Full portfolio holdings 31 March 2026.xlsx Download the full portfolio holdings. XLSX, 2.04 KB
- Product Disclosure Statement Simplicity Investment Funds 1 September 2025.pdf How this investment works, including about the provider, risks, costs and potential returns PDF, 168.18 KB
- Simplicity NZ Cash Fund update 31 March 2026.pdf The quarterly update published by the provider PDF, 537.84 KB
- Simplicity Wholesale Property Fund OMI 30 June 2025.pdf Wholesale Property Fund other material information 30 June 2025 PDF, 322.79 KB
- Letterto FMA (FMC Exemption Notice 2020)18 August 20.pdf Financial Markets Conduct (Financial Reporting and Other Relief—COVID-19) Exemption Notice 2020 (Exemption Notice) PDF, 239.41 KB
- Other Material Information Simplicity Investment Funds 1 September 2025.pdf Other Material Information PDF, 4.07 MB
- Simplicity Investment Funds Financial Statements&Annual Report 31 March 2017.pdf Letter in lieu of annual report and financial statements PDF, 227.39 KB
- Simplicity Private Equity Valuation Policy Final 250130 v 5.pdf Simplicity Private Equity Valuation Policy PDF, 700.81 KB
- Simplicity Investment Funds 31 March 2026 Register Entry Additional Information First Home Mortgage Fund.pdf Simplicity Investment Funds- 31 December 2025 - Register Entry Additional Information - Fir
- Statement of Investment Policy and Objectives Simplicity Investment Funds 1 May 2026.pdf Statement of investment policy and objectives PDF, 395.98 KB
About this category
Funds holding bank deposits and short-term money-market instruments. Lowest-risk fund category; income-focused.
About Simplicity
Not-for-profit-aligned manager offering low-fee diversified and single-asset PIE funds; donates 15% of fees to charity.
See all funds from Simplicity →Common questions
Questions people ask about Simplicity NZ Cash Fund
Drawn from Google's "People also ask" panel and answered with reference to the fund's filed PDS, Fund Update and FMA Disclose data. Not personal financial advice — for guidance specific to your situation, consult an authorised financial adviser.
Does Simplicity have a cash fund?
Yes. Simplicity offers the NZ Cash Fund, a cash-category fund with an annual fund charge of 0.12% p.a. as at the latest QFU. The fund is available to invest in directly through Simplicity.
How much does Simplicity fund charge?
The Simplicity NZ Cash Fund has an annual fund charge of 0.12% p.a., as disclosed on the FMA Disclose register. This is substantially lower than the peer-cohort average annual fund charge of 0.65% p.a. for comparable cash funds.
How safe is Simplicity?
The Simplicity NZ Cash Fund has a risk indicator of 2/7 on the FMA standardised risk scale, indicating low risk. The fund holds approximately 99.93% income assets (primarily bank deposits and fixed-income securities) and 0.07% growth assets. Safety depends on your personal circumstances; check the Product Disclosure Statement on the manager's website at https://simplicity.kiwi for full details.
Head-to-head
Compare Simplicity NZ Cash Fund with…
Side-by-side numbers — fees, returns, risk, fund size, asset mix.
Peer funds
Other Cash funds
Same manager
Other funds by Simplicity
- Simplicity Unhedged Global Share FundInternational Equities
- Simplicity Hedged Global Share FundInternational Equities
- Simplicity NZ Share FundAustralasian Equities
FMA risk band
Same risk band (2/7)
See every NZ retail managed fund with the same standardised FMA risk indicator. Useful for peer-checking volatility-comparable funds outside this category.
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AI & integrations
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Frequently asked questions
Mechanical Q&A grounded in the fund's PDS, SIPO, and latest QFU on the FMA Disclose register. Verify against the source before relying on any of this.
Who manages the Simplicity NZ Cash Fund?
Simplicity NZ Cash Fund is managed by Simplicity. Not-for-profit-aligned manager offering low-fee diversified and single-asset PIE funds; donates 15% of fees to charity.
What asset class is the Simplicity NZ Cash Fund?
It is a cash managed fund. The fund has a conservative risk profile. Funds holding bank deposits and short-term money-market instruments. Lowest-risk fund category; income-focused.
What are the fees for the Simplicity NZ Cash Fund?
The annual fund charge for the Simplicity NZ Cash Fund is 0.12% p.a., as reported in the latest Quarterly Fund Update sourced from the FMA Disclose register. Always check the current PDS for any additional fees.
What is the risk indicator for the Simplicity NZ Cash Fund?
The risk indicator is 2/7 on the standardised FMA-mandated scale, where 1 is lower risk and 7 is higher risk. The risk indicator is calculated from the fund's price volatility over the past five years and is published in every Quarterly Fund Update.
Is the Simplicity NZ Cash Fund a PIE fund?
Yes. The Simplicity NZ Cash Fund is structured as a New Zealand Portfolio Investment Entity (PIE). Investor tax on the fund's income is capped at the investor's Prescribed Investor Rate (PIR), which has a maximum of 28%. Most NZ-resident retail investors with a taxable income at or below NZ$48,000 qualify for a lower PIR.
How big is the Simplicity NZ Cash Fund?
Fund size (assets under management) is NZ$92 million as at the latest Quarterly Fund Update. Asset mix is approximately 0% growth assets and 100% income assets.
What does the Simplicity NZ Cash Fund invest in?
The latest published top holdings are: Cash at bank (10.57%), Kiwibank FRN 13 June 2028 (8.27%), Westpac FRN 6 July 2026 (8.01%). Holdings are disclosed in each Quarterly Fund Update; the full portfolio holdings file is also available via the FMA Disclose register.
How can I invest in the Simplicity NZ Cash Fund?
The Simplicity NZ Cash Fund is available via Simplicity directly. Always read the current Product Disclosure Statement before investing.
Does Simplicity have a cash fund?
Yes. Simplicity offers the NZ Cash Fund, a cash-category fund with an annual fund charge of 0.12% p.a. as at the latest QFU. The fund is available to invest in directly through Simplicity.
How much does Simplicity fund charge?
The Simplicity NZ Cash Fund has an annual fund charge of 0.12% p.a., as disclosed on the FMA Disclose register. This is substantially lower than the peer-cohort average annual fund charge of 0.65% p.a. for comparable cash funds.
How safe is Simplicity?
The Simplicity NZ Cash Fund has a risk indicator of 2/7 on the FMA standardised risk scale, indicating low risk. The fund holds approximately 99.93% income assets (primarily bank deposits and fixed-income securities) and 0.07% growth assets. Safety depends on your personal circumstances; check the Product Disclosure Statement on the manager's website at https://simplicity.kiwi for full details.