Kernel Shares & ETFs: A new way to invest in the US share market

Since 2019, Kernel has been providing you with all the tools you need to reach your financial goals, from low-fee index funds to actively managed fixed income funds, KiwiSaver and high-interest savings accounts.

And now, we’re adding another tool to your wealth-building belt. Direct access to a select range of Shares and ETFs.

Just like the rest of Kernel’s products, it’s designed for simplicity, transparency and low fees.

If you’ve been here for a while, you’ll know we’ve held tightly to a clear and time-tested investing philosophy: keep costs low, cut through the noise, and build long-term wealth by getting the fundamentals right. It’s not flashy, it’s not about finding the next big thing, but it works and the data backs it.

That’s why, for the last five years, we’ve focused almost exclusively on delivering high-quality, diversified funds. These portfolios do one thing exceptionally well: they track the market with discipline, efficiency, and transparency. They’re built for consistency, not speculation, and that’s what makes them so powerful.

But here’s the thing: from the very beginning, our goal was never to push just one way of investing. Our goal was to give Kiwis more choice, more control, and more confidence.

Over the past five years, Kernel has seen an incredible growth rate of people using multiple products on the platform, with over 25% holding multiple products. We have constantly fielded requests from customers as to whether we have shares on our platform; in fact, 46% of our customers told us that they held shares or ETFs already.

When we looked closer, we found that these customers weren’t speculating, they were using Shares or ETFs to complement their core portfolio. We have always been advocates of core satellite investing and the launch of Shares and ETFs on the platform supports our customers in managing this in one place.

From today, you can now invest in a curated selection of the top 500 shares and 300 of the biggest and best ETFs from Vanguard, Invesco and SPDR. Now all it takes to buy ETFs and shares is a click of your mouse or a tap on your smartphone.

We believe this is the simplest, smartest way for Kiwis to gain direct exposure to some of the world’s largest companies and diversified listed funds.

Put your calculator away, there’s no need to convert from NZD to USD and back again with Kernel. Unlike most other platforms, every asset that you own within the Kernel platform is in NZD.

As a Kiwi investor who will ultimately require their investments to fund their goals, we believe managing your investment choices in your home currency is just easier. You can view the unit values of shares and ETFs, buy and sell prices, and tools to track the value of your investments. It’s just easier this way.

There are thousands upon thousands of shares and ETFs out there, including plenty of junk. Kernel has reduced that noise to make it easier for you to invest by curating a list of the biggest US-listed shares and ETFs from leading fund managers.

Shares & ETFs sit alongside the rest of Kernel’s products in our user-friendly online interface. No need to jump back and forth between several platforms to buy new investments and check their progress - it’s all right here at kernelwealth.co.nz.

Our core, plus and premium pricing tiers provide low, transparent fees that are competitive or lower than those from similar platforms. We believe investors should be able to keep more of their returns.

The only fees you pay are the FX fees and the plan (if you choose to upgrade). Here’s an overview of how much the plans cost.

• Core – 1.5% FX per trade | $0 per month

• Plus – 0.6% FX per trade | $5 per month or $50/year

• Premium – 0.4% FX per trade | $15 per month or $150/year

Competitor pricing as at 23 April 2025. Kernel pricing is based on monthly payments, annual discounts are excluded. This is not an exhaustive list. For the most up-to-date info, visit the competitor's respective website.

Kernel takes a long-term approach to investing and believes our investors should too. After all, it’s been shown that time in the market is more important than timing the market.

Our index funds and actively managed fixed-income funds are designed to provide the perfect diversified core investment for a long-term strategy. They’re diversified across companies, industries, and locations to help provide broad exposure to a range of different markets.

Outside of this diversified core, many investors have ‘satellite investments’, which make up 10-20% of their portfolios. These are also held long-term, but they may be more speculative and volatile. That’s where Shares & ETFs come in.

Shares & ETFs provide investors with the choice of US shares and ETFs that make ideal long-term satellite investments. They may be riskier, but there’s also a chance that they’ll go to the moon.

You can think of them as a complement to your core of indexes and managed funds - like a squeeze of tomato sauce on your diversified PIE.

With the introduction of plans, we’re also working on exciting new features to give Plus and Premium users even more control, clarity, and confidence in how they grow their wealth. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s on the horizon:

1. Multi-account support: Manage your personal, business, or family investments all in one place.

2. Smarter goal tracking: Set, track, and adjust your financial goals with more flexibility.

3. Deeper personalisation: Customise your portfolio experience to match your preferences and priorities.

Depending on your investing behaviours and financial situation, Kernel Shares & ETFs may not always be the lowest-cost option on the market, as pricing can vary based on how and how much you invest.

Shares & ETFs are built for long-term investors - not active traders - so if you’re seeking frequent trading or advanced trading features, there are other platforms that will likely suit you better.

However, if you want an easy, integrated way to grow your investments over time and still benefit from a competitive price point, Shares & ETFs can be an excellent addition to complement your core Kernel funds as part of a core-satellite investing strategy.