RNZ money expert Susan Edmunds. Photo: RNZ
Got questions? RNZ is launching a new podcast, No Stupid Questions, with Susan Edmunds next month.
We'd love to hear more of your questions about money and the economy. You can send through written questions, like these ones, but even better, or you can drop us a voice memo to our email questions@rnz.co.nz.
As I understand, passive KiwiSaver funds do not outperform the benchmark of their indexes. However, I was wondering, do they still get good long-term returns?
More importantly, do passive funds in a long-term sense - growth and aggressive, investing $20 or $25 a month for 20-odd years - outgun inflation or are the returns rendered worthless in a buying sense long-term because of inflation?
Whether your investments will keep up with inflation is a valid concern, but it's more a question of what you're invested in, rather than whether the fund manager is an active or passive one.
Kernel Wealth founder Dean Anderson said there was a real risk that anyone investing in cash or conservative assets over a long period of time could find the value of their investment was significantly eroded by inflation.
If you invest in growth assets, as you mentioned you planned to, the returns should be enough to keep you ahead.
You're right that passive funds usually aim to track an index, they're not trying to beat it, but that doesn't mean they're always going to perform more poorly than an active manager.
Active managers aren't always able to beat the market and sometimes passive funds can end up giving a better return for lower fees.
I tried to look at the relative performance of providers compared to the fees they charged earlier this week. Some of the new, passive options don't have 10 years of performance data yet, but it may offer some insight.
I have my house in a family trust with Public Trust. My circumstances have changed and I want to take my asset (the house) out of the family trust.
I have asked Public Trust to provide a price to cancel the trust and put the house back into my name.
I couldn't get a straight answer/price, and they made it sound like it was a lot of work and money.
Here is my question - does it have to be Public Trust lawyer to dissolve/cancel a family trust with them or can an independent lawyer do this for me?
Your trust deed will say who has the legal ability to wind up the trust.
It's usually up to the trustee to decide who does the work - in some cases it could be Public Trust, but in others, you might go to an independent lawyer. You'll likely incur fees that run into thousands of dollars, either way.
Public Trust spokesperson Georgie Hills said if your trust had a property with a mortgage, that loan might need to be refinanced, before it could be transferred.
"There may also be tax implications that need to be considered. When the trust holds assets, the trustees will consider whether an early wind-up is in the best interests of all beneficiaries.
"We know how important pricing certainty is and we're sorry to hear we were unable to give the customer the clarity they needed when they first reached out. Pricing depends on the complexity of the assets held in the trust.
"Because this type of work is charged based on the time it takes and everyone's situation is unique, it's not always possible to give a price upfront.
"We encourage the customer to get back in touch, so we can talk through their options."
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