Features to see from 2023Features to see from 2023

Hello, we’re a wealth app 👋

Sharesies started by giving everyday Kiwis access to the share market, but we always knew our purpose of creating financial empowerment for everyone would eventually push us beyond the realms of an investing app. 

2023 was the year we officially made this happen, and we’re proud to say you can now invest, save, and have a KiwiSaver account with Sharesies. 💖

A KiwiSaver scheme with real choice

The Sharesies KiwiSaver Scheme is a self-select scheme that lets you invest your KiwiSaver balance and contributions into the companies and funds that you value most. 

Since our scheme is different to most, we created an investment plan builder to help people decide whether the Sharesies KiwiSaver Scheme is right for them. 

A savings account with no limits

As interest rates continued to climb well into 2023, Sharesies Save launched when many investors were looking for a high-interest, flexible savings account. 

In addition to having no fees, fixed terms, or minimum deposits, you can make as many Save accounts as you like—each with a separate name—and can set up recurring transfers from your Wallet for smooth-sailing saving.  

Delving into dividends

Over $1 million in dividends was paid to Sharesies investors in 2023! So to give investors more control over how they receive dividends, we introduced two highly-requested features: auto-invest dividends and dividend reinvestment plans (DRPs).

Auto-invest dividends lets you invest any dividend you receive on Sharesies straight back into a company or fund—automatically. 

And for a few select investments, you can opt in to a DRP to receive your dividends as shares instead of a cash payment—without paying the Sharesies transaction fee. 

If an investment offers a DRP, you’ll see Dividend reinvestment plan available on the investment’s page.  

Price watchers, rejoice!   

In 2023 we added several features to help investors keep on top of moving share prices. You can now get notified when an investment reaches a specific price, making it easier to react to price movements. To set up, go to an investment and select Set a price notification. 

Additionally, you can set up a trigger buy or stop loss order to set the price at which your buy or sell order for a US investment gets sent to market. Stop loss orders may protect an investment from potential losses, while trigger buy orders may help to take advantage of share price movements without constantly monitoring share prices yourself.

Global investing, made easier

For those who like to invest in overseas shares, there are now more ways to transfer shares into (and out of) Sharesies—including US share transfers and ASX share transfers from a Holder Identification Number (HIN).

We also introduced extended hours trading for US markets which you can opt in to by going to Investments > Manage > Extended US trading hours.

Use Sharesies—your way

One of the first releases for 2023 was our monthly plans, which help you get the most value for investing regularly with coverage on buy, sell, and auto-invest orders.

For those who want a faster and easier way to top up their Sharesies Wallet, we partnered with Māori fintech BlinkPay to deliver instant bank transfers. This is currently only available for Westpac and BNZ customers, but we expect other banks to offer open banking in 2024. 

And for keeping on top of your investments and tax obligations, there’s a new type of report that gives you in-depth data about your Sharesies investments during a selected period. To generate, go to Account > Generate reports > Investment holdings report. 

Connecting companies with retail investors 

In 2023 we stepped up how we support listed companies in Aotearoa. We launched Sharesies Open—an investor relations platform that lets companies send email updates to their Sharesies investors—and refined our Staff Shares offering. 

We also started the Sharesies Index which is a free, quarterly report that uses aggregated, anonymised Sharesies data to gauge retail investor confidence. 

What’s next?

Even after all that, we’re not planning on slowing down. Here’s what’s on the cards for 2024:

• a Save fund that takes advantage of a PIE tax structure 

• more DRPs

• live data for US investments  

• a report to help with foreign investment fund (FIF) tax 

• paying annually for pricing plans

• over-the-counter (OTC) US investments 

• more choices added to the Sharesies KiwiSaver Scheme, including more base funds, the option to select more than one base fund, US and Aussie self-select investments, and a multi-currency cash fund. 

Let us know what you think

We’re keen to hear what you think about these changes! You can let us know your feedback, or ideas for features you'd like to see this year, by emailing us at help@sharesies.co.nz.