Platform fee
A separate fee charged by a fund-distribution platform such as InvestNow, Sharesies or Kernel — paid on top of the fund's own annual fund charge.
A platform fee is the fee a fund-distribution platform charges for executing investor orders, holding the units on registry, providing reporting and access to a multi-manager fund menu. It sits on top of each underlying fund's annual fund charge.
Common NZ platform structures: a flat monthly subscription (typical for InvestNow); a per-trade transaction fee plus an account fee (typical for Sharesies); a percentage of assets per year capped at a dollar amount (typical for some KiwiSaver wraps); or zero platform fee where the manager is the platform (typical for direct managed-fund schemes).
When comparing fund costs across distribution channels, the all-in cost to the investor is the fund's annual fund charge plus the platform fee. The same fund accessed directly with the manager and via an aggregator platform can therefore have materially different total costs.
Related terms
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AFC · Total fund charge · MER
Annual fund charge
The total ongoing percentage charge paid out of a NZ managed fund each year — covering management fees, supervisor/custodian fees, audit, and other operating costs.
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QFU · Fund Update
Quarterly Fund Update (QFU)
A standardised FMA-mandated quarterly report each NZ retail managed fund publishes, summarising fees, returns, risk indicator, asset mix, top-10 holdings and fund size.
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PDS
Product Disclosure Statement (PDS)
The headline legal document a NZ managed fund or KiwiSaver scheme provides to retail investors, summarising the fund, fees, risks, and how to invest.