Get in touch

Opening an account is really easy! All you need to get started is: 

• 5 minutes of your time 
• Your IRD number 
• Your NZ drivers license or passport
• Your bank account details
  
  

If you don’t have an NZ drivers license or passport, you can get in touch with out team to determine which I.D documentation you can provide instead. 

Register for an account here. 

If your verification failed during the application process this means we couldn’t match the details entered on your account to a registered database. 

Our team will be in touch to confirm some details with you and find a solution to the problem.

We’ll then need you to send us some documentation to confirm your identity or address.

If you need to confirm your identity – our team will let you know which documents we require. The list of documents for proof of address can be found here.

If you have not yet heard from us – please get in touch via our Chat or email. 

All individual and joint investors interested in growing their wealth! We currently accept individual or joint investors who are 18 or older and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 

You’ll just need to have an IRD number, a NZ bank account and a New Zealand based address. 

We can accept Trust account applications on an ad-hoc basis. If you wish to proceed with a trust account, please get in touch with us directly as this cannot be done through our online system. 

Absolutely! Kernel offers Kids Accounts that can be opened for those aged under 18.  

There is a minimum first investment amount of $1 into any Kernel fund. After your first investment, you can make subsequent investments into the same fund from as a little as $10.

A note about withdrawals: You can make a withdrawal from the funds starting at $10, as long as your remaining investment is at least $1 (unless you are fully withdrawing your investment).

To make your first investment, you need to: 

1. Transfer cash into your Kernel Wallet:

   • This is very important as we use this reference to know the funds are yours! Your specific reference can be found in the application process & on your dashboard. 
   • Log into your internet banking and set Kernel Wealth up as a payee, making sure to include your specific reference. 
   • Make your first payment into your Kernel Wallet from your bank account. 
2. Make yourself a cuppa, as the funds will take 24-48 hours to hit your Kernel Wallet.
3. Log into your Kernel account, check your money is there and select BUY.
4. Choose your preferred investment funds and you’re away! 

Member Fees

Kernel charges a member fee of $3 per month inclusive of GST, on total portfolio balances of over $1,000. If you have up to $1,000 in your Kernel portfolio (which includes your wallet) then there is no member fee charged.

The member fee is deducted from your wallet at the end of each month or part of that in the month you first deposit or fully withdraw.

Investment Fees

Kernel charges a management fee for our investment funds. Your management fee is calculated on your total investment balance, which does not include your wallet. 

For balances from $1-$24,999 the management fee ranges from 0.39%-0.55% per year depending on the Fund you have chosen. 

For balances of $25,000 and above the effective management fee reduces to 0.29%-0.45% per year depending on the Fund you have chosen. This amount is calculated and deducted as part of the weekly unit pricing process within the fund. 

The individual Fund investment fees are listed on the Funds page and within our Product Disclosure Statement. 

How does this reduction work?

As the fund manager, we pay investors a rebate on their management fees when their total investment portfolio exceeds $25,000. We credit 0.10% per year (approximately a 25% saving on your management fee!) back to your wallet in monthly instalments. 

When you make the decision to invest, it’s natural to seek comfort that your funds are being managed prudently.

Kernel is regulated by the Financial Market Authority and supervised by Trustees Executors Limited, who set our requirements to operate and receive regular reports from us. By law, the supervisor has the responsibility to oversee our activities in the interests of all investors and to ensure we meet our obligations.

Further, the supervisor must approve all changes and is the legal owner of the assets of the funds. They appoint an independent custodian to hold the investments and as the fund manager, we can only manage assets within the fund. That means that Kernel, or its staff, cannot withdraw from the fund, plus there are three unrelated parties who can see what is going on.

You can read more on this here. 

Yes! When you create your Kenrel account, you will be asked to select whether you want distributions from your investment funds to be automatically reinvested or paid out as cash to your wallet. 

If you would like to change your existing selection, please email us.

Risk is simply a reflection of the uncertainty and unpredictability of the future. There is always an upside risk that things go better than expected. However, because of our natural tendency towards loss aversion, we mostly associate risk with the negative. 

When referring to risk with investing in index funds, the level of risk associated with a fund depends on how much the value of a fund’s assets goes up and down (volatility). 

While an individual company or companies might be reduced to dust, the chance that a whole diversified fund is significantly and permanently gone is very low. The real risk is that the value of your investment is less than you had hoped or less than you need when you withdraw, and this is why your time horizon is important.

A higher risk generally means higher potential returns over time, but more fluctuations along the way. And vice versa for lower risk. 

Read the full FAQ here.