Helping you with your life goals
Whai Rawa is a medium to long term investment scheme. It was set up by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu in 2006 to improve the wellbeing of Ngāi Tahu whānau. Whai Rawa provides a vehicle for distributions to reach eligible whānau and to encourage savings for home ownership, tertiary education, retirement, and growing financial capability.
This year Whai Rawa celebrates 38,500+ members in the scheme, $200 million in funds under management and over $51 million collectively withdrawn by whānau towards their home ownership, education and retirement. Whai Rawa's milestones are a testament to the positive impact on whānau lives.
He tikaka hou, he oraka hou Changing habits, changing lives
Pēpi
Newborn
- Whai Rawa wants to see all pēpi taught good savings habits to encourage a lifetime of benefits
Mātauraka
Tertiary education
- Whai Rawa encourages higher levels of education to benefit whānau futures
Kāika
Home
- Whai Rawa recognises home ownership as one of the keys to enabling whānau to grow their wealth and wellbeing
Te Whakatāka
Retirement
- Whai Rawa aims to play an important role in the future of whānau by supporting retirement savings
Te kaupapa How to Join Whai Rawa
1
Any individual who is residing in New Zealand or Australia who can establish their whakapapa connection to Ngāi Tahu can apply to join Whai Rawa.
2
Review our Product Disclosure Statement to understand the benefits of the Scheme and the legal fine print.
3
Complete your online or hard copy application form and get it back to us. If you are under 16 you'll need an adult to sign you up and manage your account. You'll also need an IRD number or overseas tax equivalent.
4
Start contributing! Members and whānau can contribute funds for their own and/or other whānau members' accounts earning a return on funds invested along with any matched savings and any distributions paid by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu (for eligible members under 65). Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu also meet most costs of administration.
Ngā hua Key Benefits of the Scheme
- NGĀI TAHU CONTRIBUTIONS: Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu currently provides a range of benefits to assist members, such as matched savings and payment of some administrative costs.
- POTENTIAL RETURNS ON YOUR FUNDS: Whai Rawa funds are currently invested in Mercer Investment Trusts New Zealand’s Responsible Conservative, Balanced and Growth Portfolio’s (Mercer (NZ) Ltd is the Fund Manager of those Funds). Each day a rate of return is calculated and allocated to members’ accounts.
- SOME TAX PAID ON YOUR BEHALF: Whai Rawa has been structured to ensure members in NZ are not required to include information about Whai Rawa earnings in their tax returns provided they provide the required tax information.
- KEY WITHDRAWAL CRITERIA: Savings can only be used for the key purposes of the scheme: Tertiary education; First home purchase; aged 55+ withdrawals; and in some other special circumstances. This provides you with an opportunity to save with a clear focus on important goals that can improve the wellbeing of your whānau.
FEES & CHARGES
Te Rūnanga has agreed to pay some of the fees and expenses of Whai Rawa Fund Limited (WRFL) (acting in its capacity as Manager of the Whai Rawa Unit Trust) on an on-going basis while WRFL remains as the Manager of the Whai Rawa Unit Trust. In the future, Te Rūnanga may decide to reduce the amount it pays towards fees and costs, or decide not to pay them at all.
Any fees or costs not paid by Te Rūnanga or any other third party will be met by the Whai Rawa Unit Trust and charged to Members’ accounts. Specific costs connected to fund management services for the Whai Rawa Unit Trust are charged to the scheme and thereby funded by Members.
Member Fee Increase – 1 January 2027
As we look ahead, we are introducing changes to ensure Whai Rawa remains a sustainable scheme for current and future generations. From 1 January 2027, members will contribute towards the Administration Manager’s fee, resulting in an increase in the scheme’s annual fund charges.
If you have any questions about these changes or would like to discuss them, please contact us at any time.
See below for a table summarising the changes and view Section Five ‘What are the fees?’ in the Product Disclosure Statement for the full breakdown.
