Government rescinds KiwiSaver private-asset disclosure categories after industry pushback

The Government has rescinded October 2025 policy decisions requiring managed funds, including KiwiSaver schemes, to use new asset disclosure categories on the Companies Office Disclose Register. An MBIE Phase Two capital-markets Cabinet paper, proactively released around mid-August 2026, records the reversal. Ministers cited disproportionate implementation costs after fund managers labelled the amendments undesirable and burdensome.

The change completes a two-step retreat from the December 2024 private-markets package. In October 2025 Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson had kept the disclosure-category rewrite while shelving side-pocketing, liquidity tools and fee-presentation changes. Those enabling measures drew mixed stakeholder feedback and were not progressed.

Under the now-abandoned plan, Financial Markets Conduct Regulations 2014 amendments would have taken effect from March 2027 after a transition. Funds would have disclosed New Zealand versus overseas location and granular classes such as listed versus unlisted equities, private infrastructure and private debt. The Beehive fact sheet said the disclosure changes were generally supported at the time of the October decisions.

MBIE’s earlier consultation on enabling KiwiSaver investment in private assets drew 44 submissions. Parallel climate-related disclosure proposals attracted 93. Industry groups including the Securities Industry Association, NZX and Infrastructure New Zealand backed higher private allocations. The New Zealand Shareholders Association sought more, not less, visibility on unlisted holdings.

Reserve Bank of New Zealand series T43 shows KiwiSaver total assets rising from $115.3 billion in March 2024 to $143.0 billion in December 2025. The figure eased to $142.3 billion by March 2026. FMA’s KiwiSaver Annual Report 2025 recorded $123.1 billion under management and $868.5 million in fees, or 0.7 percent of funds under management, for its reference period.

Private allocations remain low by peer standards. Reserve Bank data put private assets at 2.4 percent of total KiwiSaver AUM in the June 2025 quarter. FMA’s April 2026 snapshot found retail private exposure averaging under 5 percent of AUM after excluding specialist private-only funds. Across 97 retail funds with private assets the average sat just under 8 percent.

Australia’s superannuation system holds private assets closer to the 15–20 percent range, FMA director of markets, investors and reporting John Horner told RNZ. Seven of 16 surveyed MIS managers already held private assets. Direct holdings disclosed by respondents exceeded $1 billion, concentrated in real estate equity, private debt and private equity. Most providers signalled higher allocations over three years.

Horner said private assets can offer diversification and long-term value but stressed valuation discipline. “Private asset investments can offer diversification and long-term value for New Zealand investors. Our goal is to ensure investor outcomes are carefully considered as the extent of exposure to specific risks grows. We want to see KiwiSaver providers exploring private asset investment opportunities while ensuring that risks are carefully managed, particularly around valuation, frequency of investment review, and conflicts of interest,” he said in the FMA’s 15 April 2026 release.

He added that professional valuation practices and governance will be critical. “As investment in private assets increases, professional approach to valuation practices together with good governance will be critical for maintaining investor confidence. We encourage providers to consider out-of-cycle valuation triggers, strengthen oversight of third party valuations, and communicate more clearly with investors.”

FMA flagged infrequent valuations, limited visibility of external valuer inputs, related-party conflicts and patchy investor communication. Statutory portability rules requiring transfers within 10 business days sit awkwardly with multi-year locked private equity or infrastructure vehicles. Consumer voices, including secondary reporting of Retirement Commission concerns, had earlier warned that side-pockets and gates could shift liquidity risk onto members needing hardship, first-home or retirement withdrawals.

Phase Two capital-markets consultation remains open on product disclosure statements, director liability and market-structure settings, with submissions due 25 August 2026. The Council of Financial Regulators Q2 2026 calendar had still listed FMC Regulations asset-disclosure amendments for force in the H1 2027 window; that status may predate the rescission.

For KiwiSaver members the practical effect is limited. Disclose Register and fact-sheet granularity on unlisted exposure will stay constrained even as providers quietly lift private sleeves. For policymakers the episode highlights the tension between lighter compliance burdens and the information infrastructure needed if a $140-plus billion savings pool is to finance domestic infrastructure and growth companies at Australian scale without opaque risk transfer to retail savers. FMA supervisory engagement on valuation and liquidity guidance now forms the main guardrail while structural barriers such as 10-day portability remain unfixed.