Try to avoid doom-scrolling your KiwiSaver balance in the next few weeks
Tuesday, 3 March 2026
Diana Papadopoulos is chief executive of Booster, an investment manager, superannuation and default KiwiSaver scheme provider.
OPINION: It did not take long for the conflict between the United States and Iran to raise questions on what the impact might be on the global economy and New Zealanders’ KiwiSaver balances.
Acknowledging the serious human toll that accompanies any conflict like this, it does shine a light on something positive here in New Zealand - today most New Zealanders have a meaningful KiwiSaver balance.
The most immediate financial impact of the conflict has been a surge in oil and gas prices, which if ongoing, will unfortunately have an impact on prices paid at the pump and household budgets.
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It is early days for assessing the impact on investments like KiwiSaver, where most funds will be exposed to international markets.
Geopolitical turmoil like we’re seeing right now can increase market volatility (investment prices moving up and down) so KiwiSaver balances may decrease in the short term.
At times like these, investors tend to sell what are seen as riskier assets like equities (shares) which leads to a drop in their value. Meanwhile, so-called ‘safe haven’ assets like gold, government bonds and the US dollar can become more popular.
If you are still some time away from retirement, there is a good chance you have a heavy dose of equities in your fund. And if you are watching your KiwiSaver balance, it’s likely to swing around in the days and weeks ahead. Whilst that can be scary, it’s important to remember the history of markets which rebound once uncertainty caused by events like conflict, eases.
Looking back at previous conflicts, we can see that ultimately, there was limited impact on markets.
They were certainly volatile as developments were digested, but they soon move on. Between 2009 and 2020, markets overcame disruptive events such as the Libyan Civil War, the 2014 Israel-Hamas conflict, Russian and US involvement in the Syrian civil war, the rise of ISIS and North Korean nuclear threats.
There will be people who are trying to figure out if there is any action they can take with investments like KiwiSaver, such as changing the fund type they are in.
If you have a long time to go before you need to access your KiwiSaver savings, you have time on your side. The current ups and downs shouldn’t be of concern.
As uncomfortable as it might be watching the markets go down, the best thing you can do is hang tight and wait for the upside.
One mistake that people can make is to move when their balance is down, from a growth fund to a more conservative fund; that risks locking in losses and not getting the benefit of an upswing as the markets recover.
If you are planning on accessing your KiwiSaver savings in the next couple of years, say for a first home or when you retire, you are likely to already be in a more conservative fund which tends not to be as heavily impacted.
If you aren’t sure, the best thing to do is have a chat to a financial adviser
But if you’re confident that your KiwiSaver is in the right fund for your circumstances, it may be a good idea to give any doom-scrolling on the exact balance a miss in the next several weeks.