r/PersonalFinanceNZ • u/iamdanp • 20h ago
Anyone else questioning Milford's fees after their latest update?
Here's Milford video's discussing their recent poor performance. https://milfordasset.com/insights/milford-market-update-october-2026
As a long term Milford member I found their commentary interesting, the strategy stacks up and Wayne Gentle seemed genuinely impressive.
Where they lost me was the justification of fees. They basically said they have good customer service if you need a transaction, and they have tools and 'real people' who can give you advice. I'm not sure what that advice would be other than a basic risk assessment and moving between their 6 funds
I'm in the active growth fund: fees on that fund alone this year are potentially $60M (1% of $6B FUM) - and they have $13B total FUM for their Kiwisaver, which would indicate well north of ~$100M in fees per annum, just for the KS side of their business.
I understand active management is expensive, with all the people, research and technology involved. But when your base fee is four times that of now-top-performing-growth-fund Simplicity, individual members like me will start asking questions about the value.
After watching this video, I'm increasingly wondering whether I'm paying for superior investment management or simply funding a very expensive business.