Portfolio Software for Financial Advisers in New Zealand: FIF, PIEs and KiwiSaver

Published 31 October 2026 by Steffan Kharmaaiarvi, founder

New Zealand taxes offshore investments unlike its neighbours. Above NZ$50,000 of cost, a client's US ETFs, Irish funds and most Australian ETFs are taxed each year on deemed income under the foreign investment fund (FIF) rules rather than on what they pay out, while ASX-listed companies are exempt and a local PIE may cost less. A review has to know which side of each line the client sits on. This note is for financial advisers and small firms in New Zealand: the questions those reviews raise, what Borderfolio for Advisors screens, a worked example and where it stops. The figures are screening estimates for professional review, not tax advice.

Who it is for

Advisers and boutique firms in New Zealand whose clients hold offshore shares and ETFs, KiwiSaver alongside a personal portfolio, or assets from years in Australia, the UK or the US. Borderfolio is a review and cross-border intelligence layer beside the systems you already use. It is not a CRM, a KiwiSaver provider's platform or a trading system, and it never recommends.

The questions a New Zealand review raises

• Is the client inside the FIF rules? The test is the total cost of FIF interests at any time in the year, against NZ$50,000. A client who returned FIF income in any of the last four years stays in; a transitional resident is outside.
• Which holdings are FIF interests? NZ companies and PIEs are not. ASX-listed Australian companies are exempt. An Australian unit trust, which covers most ASX ETFs, is exempt only if it meets s EX 32.
• What will the FIF income be? Under the fair dividend rate, 5% of the opening value, taxed at the client's marginal rate.
• Is the US withholding credited? Up to 15% on a US-domiciled fund; above that, a cost. Withholding inside an Irish fund gives no credit.
• Would a PIE cost less? It depends on the client's rate and on the fees.
• Where do KiwiSaver and other accounts fit?

What Borderfolio screens for a New Zealand resident

New Zealand is one of the residences covered in depth; countries and coverage lists what that includes.

• FIF classification per holding. NZ holdings are marked as not FIF interests, ASX-listed companies as exempt under s EX 31, and Australian unit trusts as FIF interests until you confirm with the issuer and mark them as meeting s EX 32. Everything else is a FIF interest. See the FIF rules.
• The NZ$50,000 test on cost. From the cost basis in the client's confirmed statements, with switches for a prior opt-in and for transitional residence. A missing cost is reported as missing, not guessed.
• Fair dividend rate. 5% of today's value as the estimate for next year, at the marginal rate you pick, else the one on the client's tax profile, else 33% labelled as assumed.
• Foreign tax credit. US withholding on a US-domiciled fund is credited up to 15% and up to the NZ tax on that holding; withholding above 15%, for example 30% without a W-8BEN, is a cost, and so is the withholding inside an Irish fund.
• PIE comparison. For S&P 500 and total-world trackers, the same exposure through Smart listed PIEs at 28% (or the client's lower rate if included in the return) and through an unlisted PIE at the client's prescribed investor rate, shown as tax and fees a year. See comparing with an NZ PIE and New Zealand FIF tax for advisers.
• KiwiSaver as a wrapper. An account holding listed investments can be marked with the KiwiSaver wrapper and is calculated at its rates (tax wrappers). A KiwiSaver balance held in a provider's fund goes under other assets, counted in total wealth.
• Scenarios and moves. The FIF estimate appears for NZ residents and for a planned or what-if move to New Zealand in a scenario, and the report includes it as a finding with its sources.

A worked example

Illustrative round figures, not a real client. A New Zealand resident, not transitional and with no FIF income returned in the last four years, holds:

• As it stands: NZ$55,000 of FIF cost, above NZ$50,000, so both FIF interests are in the rules, including the first NZ$50,000. If they are worth NZ$60,000 today, the FIF income estimate is 5% × 60,000 = NZ$3,000, or NZ$990 of tax at 33%, before the US credit.
• If the issuer confirms s EX 32 for the Australian ETF: NZ$40,000 of FIF cost, below the threshold, so the dividends are taxed in the ordinary way.

The answer turns on one fact the adviser confirms with the issuer. The screen does not guess it.

What it does not do

• The comparative value method, the quick sale adjustment and the revenue account method for new residents are not modelled; the exchange-rate election is not applied, and today's rate is used.
• Credits for withholding by countries other than the US are not modelled.
• KiwiSaver balances are not valued from the provider; add them under other assets.
• The PIE comparison is not a recommendation: switching has its own costs and timing.
• It files nothing and does not trade. See the Australia and New Zealand limits.

How it fits beside your existing systems

Borderfolio for Advisors is a cross-border intelligence layer, not a replacement for your CRM, platform, back office or planning software. Client data reaches it in two ways today. Brokerage statements are uploaded as PDF, CSV, XLSX or images: exports from 15 brokers are read by format-specific parsers, other statements go through an extraction model, and every import is reviewed before anything is confirmed (importing statements). Accounts at Interactive Brokers (Flex) and Freedom24 can instead be connected to the broker's read-only API; synced holdings land unconfirmed and go through the same review (connect a broker). Connections to adviser systems such as Intelliflo and NDEX are in development and are not live.

Statements from New Zealand brokers without a dedicated parser go through the extraction model and are reviewed before confirmation. Your CRM and planning software stay where they are; Borderfolio adds the FIF and cross-border review and a client-ready PDF built from a stored snapshot (reports).

Frequently asked questions

Is the NZ$50,000 FIF test on cost or value?

Cost: the total cost of the client's FIF interests at any time in the year. Above it, every interest is in the rules, including the first NZ$50,000.

Are Australian shares FIF interests?

ASX-listed Australian companies that keep a franking account are exempt under s EX 31. An Australian unit trust, which includes most ASX ETFs, is exempt only if it meets s EX 32; Borderfolio treats it as a FIF interest until you mark it.

Does Borderfolio compare offshore ETFs with PIEs?

For S&P 500 and total-world trackers it compares Smart listed PIEs at 28% and an unlisted PIE at the client's prescribed investor rate, as tax and fees a year. It is a comparison, not a recommendation.

Does it use the comparative value method?

No. The estimate uses the fair dividend rate. The comparative value method needs the whole year's flows and is not modelled.