Five years on: How ASB and BlackRock are helping more New Zealanders invest with confidence

Five years, hundreds of ASB and BlackRock team members working together, more than $6 billion dollars in returns for investors, and one award win for KiwiSaver Fund Manager of the Year – we look back on the inception of our partnership with BlackRock and how it has delivered for our customers.

In 2021, ASB entered a strategic partnership with BlackRock with a clear goal: combine ASB’s investment expertise and deep understanding of New Zealand investors, with the scale and global investment capabilities of one of the world’s largest asset managers.

Today, that partnership has become a key part of how ASB manages investments on behalf of New Zealanders, helping deliver stronger investment outcomes, enhanced investment capabilities and greater access to world-class investment insights.

The ultimate measure of any investment partnership is the value it creates for investors.

Over the five-year period, ASB’s managed investment portfolios have delivered strong outcomes for customers, with funds consistently ranked among the top performers in their categories and regularly outperforming their benchmarks, as confirmed by independent Morningstar KiwiSaver survey reports. Some funds have achieved number-one rankings within their respective peer groups across various time periods.

These outcomes contributed to ASB being awarded Morningstar KiwiSaver Fund Manager of the Year for 2026, as well as Canstar’s Outstanding Value KiwiSaver Scheme Award 2026, recognizing our disciplined long-term approach and strong outcomes for nearly half a million ASB KiwiSaver Scheme members.

Together we have achieved over $6 billion in returns for our KiwiSaver and Investment Funds customers, helping more New Zealanders grow their wealth and move closer to achieving their financial goals.

Over the years, the partnership has evolved well beyond investment management.

Together, ASB and BlackRock have expanded investment opportunities available to customers, introducing new asset classes and enhancing portfolio diversification. The collaboration has also helped strengthen ASB’s internal investment capability, bringing global expertise, investment technology and market insights directly into the organisation.

This access to global thinking has helped ASB better understand long-term trends shaping investment markets, from technological advancement and demographic shifts through to geopolitical developments and changing economic conditions.

A defining feature of the partnership has been a shared commitment to investor education.

Through over 20 investor in-person events and webinars, 10+ joint ASB Investment Podcast episodes and regular market updates, ASB and BlackRock have worked together to make investment concepts more accessible and help customers better understand what’s happening in global markets and what it means for their portfolios, particularly in times of global uncertainty and market volatility, which we’ve had no shortage of in the past few years. 

These initiatives have helped investors build confidence, stay focused on long-term goals and better navigate periods of market uncertainty.

Five years on, the partnership continues to go from strength to strength.

What began as a strategic investment relationship has grown into a close collaboration focused on delivering better outcomes for customers, building investment capability and helping more New Zealanders invest with confidence.

As markets continue to change and investor needs evolve, ASB and BlackRock remain focused on a shared ambition: combining local knowledge with global expertise to help New Zealanders build long-term wealth and achieve their financial goals.