KiwiSaver investors who are worried after seeing their funds decline since the start of the pandemic need to be mindful the superannunation scheme is a longterm investment.
That's according to Fisher Funds chief investment officer Frank Jasper who told TVNZ1's Breakfast that investors shouldn't panic and in most cases shouldn't try and withdraw their KiwiSaver investment on hardship grounds.
"I think it is really important to have two things on your team," he said.
"Thing number one is having a clear focused long term strategy so you know what your end goal is, so you're not making decisions on what you're seeing right now, you're making decisions based on that long term perspective.
"The second one is knowledge actually, so that when things go well, when things go poorly as they have recently, that you're not completely spooked by that and you make those good long term decisions."
Mr Jasper said having a good plan was about knowing what your "ultimate goals" are and how long it is before needing KiwiSaver money for buying a first home or retirement.
He encouraged people to have an investment strategy consistent with that plan.
"If you're a really long term investor, actually these things are actually opportunities in difficult markets. If you're time on the horizon is much shorter, then you need to be a bit more conservative of how you manage your money," he said.
However, Mr Jasper said checking your balance every day may not be the best way to gain knowledge about KiwiSaver..
"I think knowledge is all about understanding what normal looks like, so you should expect if you invest in the sharemarket, that there will be difficult times over the course of your investing lifetime.
"Knowing to expect that and being ready for it helps you cope with it a whole lot better when it happens."
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