Source: Mindful Money
KiwiSaver Investment in “Companies of Concern” Climbs to $11.1 Billion, even as Kiwis invest for positive outcomes at home
New analysis of KiwiSaver portfolio holdings to March 2026 shows New Zealanders’ retirement savings are increasingly split between rapidly growing investment in clean energy leaders and rising exposure to fossil fuel expansion, human rights violations, environmental harm and nuclear weapons production.
The best way to verify ethical claims made by KiwiSaver funds is not to take fund managers at their word, since most claim to invest responsibly, but to track where the money actually goes. Mindful Money’s latest analysis, covering portfolio holdings across 417 funds to the end of March 2026, does exactly that, tracing $143 billion of KiwiSaver investment down to the specific companies.
Barry Coates, co-CEO of Mindful Money explained: “The public have little trust in the claims of ethical, ESG or responsible investment practices by their KiwiSaver providers. This report adds up investments across all of the KiwiSaver funds and finds the public are justified in being sceptical about the claims.”
“KiwiSaver members can find out the real story of where their money goes by visiting Mindful Money. We are a charity that provides that information for free.”
The good and the bad
The results of the data analysis show a mixed picture. On one hand, New Zealanders’ KiwiSaver funds are increasingly backing the companies driving the country’s shift to clean energy and climate resilience.
Five of the six companies receiving the largest KiwiSaver investment are New Zealand businesses delivering positive outcomes: Contact Energy, Meridian Energy, Mercury Energy, Kāinga Ora and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare. That is a strong endorsement, by our KiwiSaver providers, of the companies building the infrastructure the country needs.
Barry Coates said: “Our retirement savings can make a huge contribution towards responding to our urgent challenges. After years of ignoring this agenda, some of the leading KiwiSaver fund managers are at last investing for the common good.”
On the other hand, total KiwiSaver investment in the issues that New Zealanders consistently say they want their investments to avoid has now reached $11.1 billion. This is equivalent to 7.8% of the total KiwiSaver fund pool. That is a significant sum of Kiwis’ hard-earned retirement savings invested in companies whose practices most New Zealanders want to avoid.
Where the money is going
Fossil fuel production remains the largest single category of concern, with $5.18 billion invested (3.62% of total KiwiSaver funds), a rise of 30% over the past six months. This includes growing investment in major oil, gas and coal producers still expanding production rather than transitioning away from fossil fuels, including BHP, Shell, ConocoPhillips, Santos and Woodside. Increases in this category over the period were driven particularly by Milford, ANZ and Fisher Funds increasing their holdings, while Aurora reduced its exposure. War in Ukraine and Iran has spiked oil and gas prices, but the long term future is for rapid declines in fossil fuel production.
Investment in companies linked to human rights violations sits close behind, at $3.76 billion (2.63%). A significant driver has been increased investment in Rio Tinto, a company with a long record of harm to local communities, indigenous peoples and the environment through its mining operations, and in Thermo Fisher Scientific, which faces ongoing concerns over the use of its products to support surveillance by the Chinese state. Milford, Fisher Funds and ANZ increased their holdings in companies flagged for human rights concerns over the period, while Simplicity and BNZ reduced theirs.
Environmental harm accounted for $1.78 billion (1.25%) of KiwiSaver investment, with notable increases in holdings of Corteva and UPL Ltd, both agrichemical companies whose products, including highly hazardous chemicals and PFAS (“forever chemicals”), pose risks to human health and the environment. ANZ, Mercer and Sharesies increased their exposure to this category, while Milford and MAS reduced theirs.
Animal cruelty investment reached $1.52 billion (1.06%), with increases linked to factory farming giants JBS and Tyson. JBS in particular has drawn international criticism not only for animal welfare practices but for its role in driving deforestation through its supply chains.
Weapons investment totalled $612 million (0.43%) an increase of 15% over the six months to March 2026. After years of declining investment in nuclear, there has been a rise in investments in nuclear weapons production through RTX (formerly Raytheon), Honeywell and Lockheed Martin. Sharesies, InvestNow and Generate increased their holdings of nuclear weapons producers over the period, while AMP, Goalsgetter and MAS reduced theirs.
Social harm, the traditional ethical categories of tobacco, gambling, alcohol and pornography, remains the smallest category of concern, at $444 million (0.31%). This reflects the fact that these issues are relatively easy for fund managers to define and screen out, and many major KiwiSaver providers have had long-standing policies to exclude them. Surprisingly, there were increases in tobacco producers such as Philip Morris and BAT by Sharesies, Kernel and ANZ.
Cashing in on global disruption
Taken together, these figures show a widening gap between the outcomes New Zealanders say they want from their KiwiSaver savings and where a meaningful slice of that money is actually invested. Surveys consistently show that human rights violations are the single issue New Zealanders are most concerned about avoiding in their investments, followed closely by weapons and animal cruelty. Yet these are precisely the categories where KiwiSaver providers have made the least progress, and in several cases have gone backwards.
Barry Coates explained: “The latest KiwiSaver investment data shows funds chasing investments in companies profiting from war, environmental damage and harmful company practices. Some Kiwis are fine with making money from the misery of others. But many others aren’t. Now they have the information to make informed choices.”
The sharp increase in nuclear weapons investment is particularly striking. While most KiwiSaver providers have policies excluding investment in landmines or cluster munitions, far fewer exclude the catastrophic category of nuclear weapons production, despite New Zealand’s long-standing national identity as a nuclear-free country and strong public opposition to nuclear weapons.
Similarly, the increases in fossil fuel investment come at a time when the economic case for renewable energy continues to strengthen. Renewable energy is now the cheapest and most efficient source of new energy generation in most markets, and fossil fuel companies face growing risks of stranded assets as production peaks and then declines globally.
Barry Coates added: “KiwiSaver providers chasing short-term returns from fossil fuel expansion are taking on financial and climate risks that a genuine transition strategy would avoid.”
A tale of two portfolios
The strong flows into Contact, Meridian, Mercury, Kāinga Ora and Fisher & Paykel show that KiwiSaver providers are capable of directing significant capital toward companies delivering positive impact for New Zealand. Later this year, Mindful Money will launch a major new project, providing free information to the New Zealand public on investments by KiwiSaver funds into companies that generate positive outcomes.
This investment in supporting the transition to renewable energy, providing affordable housing and supporting healthcare sits uneasily alongside the desperate drive for short term profits at any cost. Mindful Money believes that responsible funds should not sacrifice their principles in the sugar hit from short term profits, driven by policies largely influenced by President Trump – war and conflict, nuclear weapons, fossil fuel disruption and unregulated toxic chemicals.
Individual fund managers show real divergence in their approach. Some, such as Simplicity, BNZ, Aurora and MAS, have reduced their exposure to one or more categories of concern over the period. Others, including Milford, ANZ, Fisher Funds, Mercer, Sharesies, InvestNow and Generate, increased their holdings in at least one category flagged as a concern to the New Zealand public.
Finding an ethical fund
KiwiSaver members do not have to accept this gap between their values and their investments. A small group of “Mindful Funds” meet Mindful Money’s ethical criteria, combining strong ethical standards with solid financial performance, including funds from Pathfinder Asset Management, Generate, Simplicity, Booster SRI Funds, Harbour Asset Management, MAS and Always Ethical.
Members of the public can check exactly what their own KiwiSaver fund is invested in, and find a fund that better aligns with their values, for free, at mindfulmoney.nz.
About Mindful Money
Mindful Money is an independent New Zealand charity that empowers Kiwis to align their investments with their values, by tracking where KiwiSaver and managed fund money actually goes, and helping members of the public find funds that meet their ethical standards.
Notes: Full data tables and methodology are available on request. Figures are based on Mindful Money’s analysis of reported portfolio holdings for 417 KiwiSaver funds as at March 2026.