Kernel takes on Sharesies (and others)

The Auckland based company has today launched functionality on its platform allowing investors to buy shares and exchange traded funds.

It offers more than 500 US shares and 300-plus ETFs from Vanguard, Invesco and SPDR.

Chief executive Dean Anderson says “Ultimately, Kernel is a data and technology company. Funds management is a core part of what we do, but everything we do is data and tech led to help create the best outcomes for Kiwis.”
This move puts Kernel into direct competition with the likes of Hatch and Sharesies.

Chief customer officer Catherine Emerson says one of the key differences between Kernel and other platforms is the way it charges fees,

It has one fee, an FX fee which is split between Kernel and its broker. And everything is in New Zealand dollars.

“Bluntly, the offerings via our competitors are confusing. Everyone hides their FX fees or has trade fees in USD”. Emerson says. “There’s a lot of mental math investors have to undertake, and often people don’t realise what they’re paying”.

She says the new product launch is driven by investor demand. Sharesies recently reported a record $3.21 billion NZD in trading volume in a single quarter, over 75% of that was in US listed instruments.

Emmerson says the project has been a 12 months in the making and included customer research to understand how these products fit alongside existing funds or KiwiSaver investments.

“More than 46% of our customers already held shares or ETFs elsewhere,” head of product, Armin Svoboda says. “When we looked closer, we found they weren’t speculating, they were using them to complement their core portfolio. So, we built this to bring everything together.”

Kernel have always been advocates of core satellite investing and the launch of shares and ETFs on the platform supports customers in managing this in one place.

“Our goal was to give Kiwis more choice, more control, and more confidence in managing their whole wealth”, Anderson says.