DLA Piper submission: Enabling KiwiSaver investment in private assets

We recently made a submission to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) on its Enabling KiwiSaver investment in private assets discussion document.

Overview of submission

MBIE's discussion document identifies some of the key barriers preventing more KiwiSaver investment in private (or unlisted) assets, namely liquidity and valuation. The discussion document also makes several proposals to address these barriers, which we generally support.

However, our submission advocates for a broader, coordinated approach to incentivising KiwiSaver investment in private assets that includes:

• Alignment and support from relevant regulatory bodies, including the Financial Markets Authority and Inland Revenue.
• Consideration of targeted tax reforms, including technical changes to the PIE tax rules.
• Recognition of the role of private asset investment in strengthening New Zealand's public markets.

You can find MBIE's discussion document here, and our submission here.

For more information on the consultation, please see our previous update here.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss MBIE's consultation or KiwiSaver investment in private assets more generally.