You should know what your investment portfolio costs you before you decide to partner with us.
Transparency builds trust.
You can rest assured our ownership is independent of any product provider. We have no products of our own.
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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 comprehensive 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 here, the total all‑in cost after tax falls between 1.0% and 1.4% per year.
Portfolio size tier | Become Wealth investment management fee, per year (excl. GST) |
|---|---|
First $500,000 | 1.07% |
$500,001 to $1,000,000 | 0.97% |
$1,000,001 to $1,500,000 | 0.87% |
$1,500,001 to $2,000,000 | 0.77% |
$2,000,001 to $5,000,000 | 0.67% |
$5,000,001 and above | By individual arrangement |
Fees are calculated daily on portfolio value and deducted monthly in arrears. 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.
Two further costs sit alongside the Become Wealth investment management fee:
Total cost = Become Wealth fee + platform/custody + underlying fund fees.
This is illustrated practically in the tables below.
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.
A 70/30 growth-tilted portfolio, suitable for an investor with a long horizon and comfort with material fluctuations in value. Traditional means our standard portfolio construction, without specific sustainability screens.
Fee component | Annual cost (excl. GST) | As % of portfolio |
|---|---|---|
Become Wealth investment management fee | $3,638 | 1.07% |
Custodian and underlying fund manager fees, combined | $1,938 | 0.57% |
All-in cost, before tax deduction | $5,576 | 1.64% |
All-in cost, after 39% income tax deduction on the Become Wealth fee | $4,156 | 1.22% |
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.
A 98/2 portfolio is built almost entirely from growth assets. PIE-only construction caps the tax rate on investment income at the investor's prescribed investor rate, currently a maximum of 28%, which can be lower than the marginal rate on the same income held outside a PIE structure.
Fee component | Annual cost (excl. GST) | As % of portfolio |
|---|---|---|
Become Wealth investment management fee | $8,696 | 1.03% |
Custodian and underlying fund manager fees, combined | $4,948 | 0.59% |
All-in cost, before tax deduction | $13,644 | 1.61% |
All-in cost, after 33% income tax deduction on the Become Wealth fee | $10,774 | 1.28% |
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.
A 40/60 portfolio is income-tilted with sustainability screens applied to the underlying funds.
Fee component | Annual cost (excl. GST) | As % of portfolio |
|---|---|---|
Become Wealth investment management fee | $16,744 | 0.94% |
Custodian and underlying fund manager fees, combined | $8,154 | 0.46% |
All-in cost, before tax deduction | $24,898 | 1.39% |
All-in cost, after 39% income tax deduction on the Become Wealth fee | $18,368 | 1.03% |
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.
Reducing total cost increases the share of returns that remain invested. See exactly how we protect your capital in the breakdown below.
Fee type | Our position |
|---|---|
Commissions on investments | None. Rebates and any commissions received from fund managers are paid into your account in full. |
Establishment or onboarding fee | None. |
Contribution fees | None. |
Withdrawal fees | None. |
Portfolio switching fees | None. |
Service termination fee | None. |
Penalty fees of any kind | None. |
Performance fees | None. |
Minimum fee | None. |
Brokerage on standard portfolios | None. Our portfolios are constructed specifically to avoid brokerage costs. |
Platform sign-up or annual platform fees | None, beyond the custodian fee already included in the worked examples above. |
In-house product loading | None. We do not own or operate a fund manager. Our ownership is independent of fund managers, investment platform providers, and brokers. We have no in-house products to push you toward. |
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.
Professional guidance should pay for itself, and much more. Research from Vanguard and Russell Investments suggests a competent adviser adds between 3% and 4.7% in net value each year, through behavioural coaching during market swings, tax-aware investing, and disciplined rebalancing. Because our fees are published clearly, you can measure that value against your own results.
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:
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.
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.
Of course. It would be the pleasure of one of our financial advisers to meet and clarify any questions you may have.
In New Zealand, advised investment portfolios typically fall between 1.2% and 2.1% all-in, depending on size, structure, and how the firm bundles platform and fund costs. Some providers will have additional fees, such as for establishing a portfolio, a minimum fee, brokerage, or commissions.
Yes. Every client receives an Investment Proposal at the start of the relationship which sets out the fees which apply to their specific portfolio, in writing. Quarterly and annual reports transparently show every fee deducted, by line.
GST is usually payable on 60% of our investment management fee, reflecting the mix of taxable and exempt supplies in the service. The custodian and underlying fund manager fees are not subject to GST in the same way. The exact treatment for your portfolio is confirmed in your Investment Proposal. The dollar examples on this page are shown exclusive of GST.
Typically, yes, against taxable investment income, subject to IRD rules and your individual circumstances. Investment management fees paid to a financial advice provider are generally treated as a deductible expense where they relate to deriving assessable income. The dollar examples on this page show both the gross cost and the cost after the deduction is applied, using each client's stated marginal rate. We are not tax advisers; please confirm your position with your accountant.
Both rates reflect significant discounts we have negotiated using our scale and bargaining power. Publishing the precise rates would compromise the commercial arrangements that produce those discounts, which would ultimately cost you money. The combined figure is precise, the all-in total is precise, and the split is held back specifically because keeping it confidential is what makes the rates as low as they are.
No, though most clients invest more than $250,000. We'll work with people on lower sums if they're on a solid trajectory and we believe we can add value.
Yes, and they are paid to you, not us. Where we or our independent research partner have negotiated a rebate on a fund, or where any fund pays a commission, it is paid in full into your account and appears as a line item in your annual report. Become Wealth receives no commissions for providing DIMS.
Yes. There is no minimum term, no exit fee, no termination charge, and no other disadvantage to leaving. Thirty days' written notice is all we ask. You can move to another provider, cash out, or transfer the assets to your own name. In the unlikely event you take this route, we assist with whichever path you choose.
KiwiSaver is a materially different product to a DIMS portfolio, so a direct fee comparison is not strictly like-for-like. KiwiSaver has a separate regulatory regime designed primarily for retirement saving, with access restricted until age 65 except in limited circumstances. DIMS portfolios are unrestricted, advised, and can hold a much wider range of underlying investments with portfolio construction tailored to your specific objectives. The fee structures differ accordingly. That said, the comparison is sometimes instructive:
“The fees in all examples on this webpage are less than what I pay my KiwiSaver provider, for what I think is much less overall value.” Joseph Darby, CEO, Become Wealth, 13 May 2026.
We believe in transparency. We believe we can add value many times more than our fees, that is why clients stay with us so long.