NZ managed funds by FMA risk indicator
The FMA standardised risk indicator is published on every NZ fund's Product Disclosure Statement and Quarterly Fund Update. It maps the past five years of unit-price volatility onto a 1–7 band (1 = lowest, 7 = highest).
284 of 289 tracked funds with on-file risk indicator. Data from Sorted Smart Investor (sourced from FMA Disclose).
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Risk 1 — lowest
4 fundsCash and short-duration NZ fixed-interest funds at the lowest band on the FMA 1–7 scale.
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Risk 2 — lower
9 fundsConservative diversified and longer-duration NZ bond funds at the second-lowest band.
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Risk 3 — lower-middle
40 fundsConservative-balanced diversified, broad NZ fixed interest, and hedged international bonds.
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Risk 4 — middle
74 fundsBalanced and balanced-growth diversified mandates — roughly 50–70% growth assets.
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Risk 5 — upper-middle
131 fundsGrowth diversified, broad international equities, Australasian equities, listed property.
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Risk 6 — higher
24 fundsConcentrated equity strategies, thematic funds, emerging-market equity exposure.
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Risk 7 — highest
2 fundsNarrow thematic and concentrated single-country or single-name equity strategies.
About the FMA risk indicator
The 1–7 scale is the standardised disclosure on every NZ Quarterly Fund Update. It is calculated from the standard deviation of monthly returns over the past five years and mapped to a band per the FMA's risk-indicator framework. The methodology is identical across every fund — so a 4 here means the same thing as a 4 on any FMA-registered fund.
It is backward-looking — a fund's band can move between quarters if recent volatility shifts. It also doesn't capture every kind of risk (liquidity, concentration, manager-specific operational risks). Always read the fund's PDS in full before deciding.
ManagedFundsNZ provides information only, not personalised financial advice. For advice, see a licensed financial adviser.