The New Zealand Superannuation Fund outperformed its benchmarks for the year ending June 30, 2025, reporting a pre-tax return of 11.84% after costs.
The Fund’s total value rose by $8.4B, closing the financial year at $85.1B. According to a news release, the strong results were driven by both global equity markets and the Guardians’ active investment strategies.
“Two numbers are of particular importance to us,” said Jo Townsend, chief executive officer of the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation. “The first is net return, or the return over and above the government’s cost of capital.”
That net return was 7.24%, based on the 90-Day Treasury bill rate of 4.61%, equating to an estimated $5.5B in added value for the Crown over the 12-month period.
Another key performance measure Townsend highlighted was value add, which came in at 0.98%, meaning the fund earned an additional $745M above what would have been achieved through a passive, index-tracking strategy.
While short-term gains are closely monitored, she emphasized that the Fund’s long-term performance remains its most telling metric. Over the past 20 years, the Fund has delivered an average annual return of 9.92%, with active investment strategies contributing nearly $20B in additional returns compared to a passive approach.
“Certainly, part of that is down to some well-thought-out and well-implemented active investment strategies,” added Townsend. “However, we must also recognize that much of the Fund’s success is due to the exceptionally strong performance of global markets over the past 20 years.”
She pointed to the Fund’s legislative clarity and independence from government as central to its consistent results. “We operate with a clear legislative mandate and independence from the government of the day, which allows us to remain focused on the long term and make investment decisions on a purely commercial basis.”
