Investment management fees

Your initial steps to financial clarity

You deserve a transparent process. Here is exactly what you experience when you start.

1. You gain certainty. You begin with a complimentary initial consultation to see if your goals align with our expertise. You receive a honest assessment of whether we're right for each other, and our initial take on your financial position. You leave this conversation with clearer direction, regardless of whether we're a good fit.
2. You own the plan. You receive a personalised financial roadmap, developed by drawing on our experienced team of advisers. The roadmap defines your current position, your targets, and the exact actions needed to bridge the gap. You have the freedom to implement it yourself or partner with us to handle the heavy lifting so you can focus on living life.
3. Your ongoing professional relationship. If you elect us to manage your investments, you benefit from professional oversight and ongoing advisory services. You pay a simple fee based on the capital you invest. Research from Vanguard and Russell Investments suggests ongoing financial advice adds between 3% and 4.7% in net value each year, through behavioural coaching during market swings, tax-aware investing, holistic financial planning and disciplined rebalancing.

Transparent pricing: our investment management fee schedule

This guide serves as a focused investment management fee explainer for quick reference. It does not apply to KiwiSaver Schemes, legacy superannuation products, or any investment not managed by Become Wealth. Our full digital disclosure is available online. In addition, when you meet with our team, we will provide a disclosure pack tailored to your specific situation.

Our fees are tiered, so each portion of your portfolio is charged at the rate for its tier, blended down as your portfolio grows.

Across the portfolios illustrated below, the total all‑in cost after tax falls between 1.0% and 1.3% per year.

Fees are calculated daily on portfolio value and deducted monthly in arrears, directly from your portfolio. You never receive a bill. All fees paid to Become Wealth are ordinarily tax deductible for taxpaying investors, subject to IRD rules and your circumstances. GST is usually only payable on 60% of the fee, which in many cases reduces the effective total cost further.

The other costs in a Become Wealth portfolio

Two further costs sit alongside the Become Wealth investment management fee:

• An administration and custodian fee, paid to FNZ Custodians Limited (our global platform and custody provider) for safe custody of your investments, daily unit pricing, online portal access, tax reporting, and corporate actions.
• Underlying fund manager fees, paid to the managers of the funds inside your portfolio. These are net of any rebates we have negotiated, which are paid into your account in full.

Total cost = Become Wealth fee + platform/custody + underlying fund fees.

This is illustrated practically in the tables below.

Total full cost. Three real portfolios, three real dollar examples

The three examples below use portfolios we genuinely run for clients, with realistic balances and tax rates. For clarity, each shows the all-in total in dollars, then the same figure after applying the income tax deduction available on investment management fees.

Example 1: $340,000 in a traditional growth-tilted portfolio, 39% marginal tax rate

This portfolio allocates 70% to shares for growth and 30% to bonds and defensive assets for stability. It works best for long-term goals where market swings are an acceptable trade-off for higher potential returns. "Traditional" simply means a focus on broad market participation without applying specific sustainability or environmental screens.

Tier arithmetic on the Become Wealth fee for the portfolio above: $340,000 sits entirely within the first tier, so the full balance is charged at 1.07%, giving $3,638.

Example 2: $845,000 in a portfolio of 98% PIE share funds, 33% marginal tax rate

This portfolio targets maximum growth by holding almost entirely share-based assets. The portfolio investment entity (PIE) structure caps your tax rate on PIE income at 28%. For investors on higher marginal tax rates, this cap can leave more after-tax return in the portfolio than holding the same assets outside a PIE.

‍

Tier arithmetic on the Become Wealth fee for this portfolio: $500,000 at 1.07% is $5,350, and the remaining $345,000 at 0.97% is $3,346. Total $8,696, or a blended 1.03% across the whole portfolio.

Example 3: $1,785,000 in a Conservative-Balanced SRI portfolio, 39% marginal tax rate

This portfolio prioritises capital preservation and steady income. It holds 60% in bonds and defensive assets, balanced by 40% in shares. You benefit from a more predictable experience, making this a common choice if you are nearing or already in retirement. The socially responsible investment ("SRI") approach ensures your capital is invested in a way that meets high environmental and social standards.

Tier arithmetic on the Become Wealth fee for the portfolio above: $500,000 at 1.07% is $5,350, the next $500,000 at 0.97% is $4,850, the next $500,000 at 0.87% is $4,350, and the final $285,000 at 0.77% is $2,194. Total $16,744, or a blended 0.94% across the whole portfolio.

In the portfolios illustrated above, the combined platform, custody, and fund costs fall between 0.45% and 0.60%. The exact figure depends on asset mix and portfolio size.

^{The figures in all examples are net of fund manager rebates and any commissions, both of which are credited in full to your account. Tax outcomes depend on individual circumstances. We are not tax advisers; please confirm your position with your accountant.}

Keep more of your returns

Reducing total cost increases the share of returns that remain invested. To help your investment grow, here are the fees we do not charge.

Know your true cost

Compare apples to apples. If you evaluate another firm, ask for their "all-in" fee. A single headline percentage rarely tells the full story. It often hides separate platform, custody, and fund manager costs in the fine print. Some advice providers also charge performance fees, brokerage, foreign exchange, account setup fees, and more.

The figures on this page are your total cost as a Become Wealth client. You can see exactly how much of your capital stays invested and working for you.

You first

The FMA's May 2024 monitoring report found NZ advisers switching clients to providers paying higher commissions without showing why those providers best met the client's needs, and moving clients into investment products with substantially higher fees without showing why this was in the client's interest. The FMA has since named adviser remuneration a 2025/26 sector priority and committed to a thematic review.

We removed these conflicts by design:

• Fixed adviser remuneration. Our pay does not change based on what we recommend. Plus, our financial advisers are paid a salary or contractor fee, not commissions.
• Zero commissions to Become Wealth. No kickbacks, no bonuses from providers to Become Wealth or to our staff for investment management services.
• Rebates returned. Any fund manager rebates are passed back to you in full.

Our ongoing financial planning and investment management service is funded solely by the fee on this page. The advice you receive is based on what suits you, not what pays us more.

Why "all-in" transparency matters

In financial services, fee drag is a silent killer of wealth. A 1% difference in total annual costs can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost gains over 30 years.

If a firm cannot give you a single consolidated number covering advice, platform, and fund costs, that itself tells you something about whether their interests align with yours.