From a standing start, with little distribution and only the moustachioed-brand economic commentator as a Unique Selling Proposition, this was a very impressive achievement. Just as impressively, Morgan et al sold out to Kiwibank at exactly the right moment, banking $50 million when the KiwiSaver growth rate began to hit natural limits.
And while GMK has justifiably won accolades for its member communication efforts, its investment performance hasn't garnered similar praise. You'd struggle, for example, to find many happy GMK growth fund members.
The growth fund itself is heavily weighted towards global index funds - exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the like. For example, the Blackrock MSCI Index Fund currently accounts for almost 12 per cent to the total GMK growth portfolio. However, the fund also owns a few direct international shares including LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Pernod-Ricard SA. As a balance to the luxury brands (and perhaps reflecting the opportunities arising as the rich/poor divide widens) GMK also has stakes in McDonalds and Domino Pizza.
But that's an aside. To my mind, Morgan's biggest achievement in KiwiSaver was putting the issue of unit pricing on the mainstream agenda.
Until Morgan began expounding on the subject, very few citizens would've given the subject much thought (and sensibly so).
GMK has its own unique way of valuing its holdings, setting an entry/exit price but once a month. Ironically, the lack of daily unit pricing (industry standard practice) could be one of the reasons Kiwibank has struggled to amalgamate its other AMP-managed KiwiSaver scheme with GMK. Announced last September and scheduled for completion about now, the merger of the two Kiwibank schemes has yet to be finalised.
But now that Morgan has exited maybe a unit price can be struck.