Annemarie Hills, an investment adviser with Craigs Investment Partners, said it had received a number of queries about Bonus Bonds from its existing clients.
"We had one client with $500k in Bonus Bonds. For him it was a parking place for those funds while he decided what he would do next instead of having the money on-call - it was a bit of a punt."
Another client had been investing annually in the scheme for their grandchildren.
Hills said what people should do with the money really depended on the timeframe for when they wanted access to it.
"If it is short-term then the bank is the best option."
But Hills said longer-term investors should look for growth and avoid term deposits.
For smaller amounts of under $100,000 she suggested people should look to invest in a diversified managed fund - managed funds are similar to KiwiSaver but don't lock people's money in until they are 65.
Diversified funds spread the money across a range of asset classes like shares, listed property investments, bonds and cash.
"There is no hard and fast rule. It does depend on the risk profile of the individual."
Bonus Bond holders have to decide whether to get the money out now or stick with the scheme while it winds up which could take up to a year.
Those who stick with it could end up with a bit extra as the remaining money from realising the assets will be split among them.
But Forsyth Barr has released research showing those who wait for the wind-up may get just 2c per $1 in bonds they have.
Hills said the decision on whether or not to stick it out depended on a person's individual circumstances and what they planned to do with it.
"If you are talking about a small amount, it will be a year or more of hanging in there."
Financial advisor Martin Hawes. Photo / Supplied
Martin Hawes, a financial adviser who is no longer practicing, said it had always surprised him how many of his clients had money in Bonus Bonds.
"I have worked mostly with people who are relatively wealthy. A lot will have $10k, 20k [in Bonus Bonds] just on the basis the money is safe and - you never know."
Bond holders forgo interest but went into a draw to win $1 million every month. But Hawes said the odds of winning were low and it was a "fairly opaque" scheme.
Hawes said for those who were considering what to do with the money it was all about timing.
"It is what would I be doing with the money?"
He said one person he had spoken to had decided to stick with waiting for the wind up because they couldn't think of anything better to do with the money.
Hawes said those thinking about spending it for lifestyle reasons may as well cash it in now.
"If you are thinking about buying a canoe or an ocean going yacht you may as well do it now."
Those who wanted to invest the money needed to figure out what was suitable based on their risk profile. He said filling in a five-minute survey on the sorted website could help people do that.
"I think a lot of people will simply put it in term deposits." But he said term deposits should only be a place for short-term investments of under a year.
"If you are investing for longer periods - three years plus, you need to be in a diversified portfolio."
KiwiSaver was one example of that. But he said only those saving for a house or over the age of 65 should consider putting any money into the retirement savings scheme on the proviso they were in the right fund for their risk profile.
"I think you have to be very careful putting it into KiwiSaver if you are not in those two groups."
Hawes said the challenging economic environment caused by Covid-19 meant great uncertainty even for those in jobs once considered safe such as being an airline pilot.
"For most 30, 40, 50 year olds I would be very careful about putting it into KiwiSaver."
Instead he suggested investing into a non-KiwiSaver diversified managed fund where the money was not locked in.
Those with large sums of money such as $200k plus could get access to bespoke investment advice.
Other choices could also include investing via platforms like Sharesies, Hatch or Investnow.
"As long as people focus on buying good businesses."
