Wellington’s Investor Conference And What You’ll Learn

You don’t have to be a “finance person” to be an investor anymore, and that’s exactly why financial literacy matters. James joins me to share what’s coming up for Wellington investors and anyone with KiwiSaver, Sharesies, or a long-term goal of retiring with options. We talk about the NZ Shareholders Association (NZSA) Investors Conference 2026 and why the theme “A New Era for Investing” feels spot on right now, as more New Zealanders get exposure to shares, bonds, and markets without always understanding how the pieces fit together. 

We break down what makes this conference different: it’s designed to represent and educate investors rather than push one product. James talks about the value of getting in a room with people who’ve lived through multiple market cycles, the kind of conversations you can have with experienced speakers, and why he calls the ticket price “not a cost, it’s an investment”. We also cover the practical stuff, including that it’s a two-day event in Wellington at the Banquet Hall, Parliament Buildings, on 22 and 23 October, and that there are options if you only want to attend one day. 

From there we zoom out to the bigger win: making better long-term decisions, especially around KiwiSaver. We talk about how many people stay in default settings for years, how a single review can change outcomes over decades, and why learning the basics early matters even more for our kids. If you want a smarter, calmer approach to investing in New Zealand, this chat is a strong starting point. 

Subscribe for more straight-up conversations, share this with a mate who’s been meaning to sort their KiwiSaver, and leave a review if you want us to bring more practical investing education to the show.

Transcript

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Why Investors Should Pay Attention

SPEAKER_00 0:10

In our line of work, we deal a lot of the time with investors, but all kinds of investors, not just property investors, but also investors that invest into shares and bonds and markets and whatever. And I've got James today to talk to us about something really exciting that's coming up for those that are investors in Wellington. Hey James.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Hey, Ziponiso. How are you doing? Good, thank you. What do we have coming up?

Investing Is Easier Than Ever

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Well, I just wanted to share this because you know the landscape's really changing in terms of investing. Anyone can invest these days via uh Sharzi's. And um, I know you do a bit of Sharzi's investing yourself, and most people have Kiwi Saver. So if you have exposure to these kind of uh assets which are going to benefit you over the long term, long term, it sort of makes sense to educate yourself on how it all works. And uh, I'm working with an organization or a part of an organization in New Zealand called the New Zealand Shareholders Association, and what they're trying to do is broaden the scope of their members. They want to uh promote investing to all types of investors in New Zealand. You know, that includes your your in at KiwiSaver, investors and your sharees and all that kind of stuff. So they're putting on they're doing a conference this year. It's called A New Era for Investing.

Why The Conference Is Worth It

SPEAKER_01 1:29

And that is looking really exciting. They've got a whole bunch of really cool people that are going to be doing guest guest talks, such as the CEO from Somerset, and uh I don't know if people have heard of this guy, but Dean Anderson from Kernel, who's who which is a very fast growing KiwiSaver provider. You've got people from you've got Fraser Winnery, Winneray, and you've got uh speakers from Black Pearl Group and and various other investment companies uh or listed listed companies.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

So that's really cool. And how much does it cost to go there?

SPEAKER_01 2:11

It's probably gonna cost you a couple of hundred dollars. I mean, so it's hold on.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

I rephrase myself. It's not a cost, it's an investment.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

It is an investment. It's I look, it's I mean, I've already signed up, and and if you get in early, you can you get a bit of a discount. But if you just have a look up New Zealand Shareholders Association Investors Conference 2026, if you want to find out a little bit more about it or talk to somebody before you jump in and do it, then of course you can contact me and we can because I'm really trying to get more people into this kind of thing.

SPEAKER_00 2:44

You know, if you think about how many hold on, this is not a financial advice, and this episode is not sponsored by New Zealand Shareholders Association. We're just doing a good community work here, just spreading the good word about what's available out there.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

Yeah, it's educational. Absolutely, it's educational.

SPEAKER_00 3:00

It's educational because I mean we've got to stick to our line of work. Yeah, but at the same time, you and I believe if we can lift the knowledge of New Zealanders, the the level of financial literacy, everybody wins.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

We all can create a better society that we live in and invest in and retire with more money.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

It makes a big difference. If you just get the right advice on something as simple as your Kiwi Saver, how many people do we know that are in say default KiwiSavers or or in funds that might not necessarily suit their long-term interests because they've never talked to an investment advisor about that? We're not investment advisors, but we can put you in contact with them.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:41

And that can make a difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars over 30, 40 years in your retirement savings if you just have that the conversation with the right person. And so by going to these kind of things, you are you networking with people who are well advanced and are really willing to share what they know. So you've got people from all walks of life who go along to these things.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

You know, one of the phrases I always loved and I try to live by is if you walk in the room and you're the smartest one, it's the wrong room.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:18

You've got to be the one where you're eager to learn, that you're learning something. And I find those conferences are a beautiful way to expand your brain cells to learn something that you haven't even thought of before. And as you say, you're talking to people who have done it for years, who have gone through multiple market property cycles, property cycles, market cycles where things have tanked and then things have re recovered. And how did those people deal with that stress? Because I mean, investing is not for faint-hearted.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

No, well, that's and that's why we pay other people like HiwiSaver providers to sort of do it on our behalf, and maybe we play around a little bit with a small amount of money, you know, in our shares' accounts or whatever. Yeah. When because it's something it's interesting, it's an interesting thing to know what to do, and it's quite fun to watch the markets and what they're doing.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

Um, but yeah, you're definitely going to meet new and interesting people. And I found them it's not that you're going into it's not like you're going to a conference that's put on by an investment bank. It's put on by the New Zealand Shareholders Association, who are looking to represent all investors in New Zealand. So it's not, it's not, it's not what you would typically associate as a normal type of investment conference.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

And I guess it's not biased, right? Like it won't be just pushing one product over the other, as you were saying. If someone put it together where they've got that product bias.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:47

Versus this one is very neutral. It will have information across all sorts of different products and will connect you with those people. Is it one day or

Dates, Venue, And Speakers

SPEAKER_00 5:55

two days?

SPEAKER_01 5:55

Two days. It's a two-day thing. So uh you don't have to go both days, and I think it's cheaper if you just choose the one day.

SPEAKER_00 6:00

Okay. Um What the what were the dates again?

SPEAKER_01 6:04

It's a very good question. Let's have a look at that. Where are we talking? 22nd and 23rd of October at Banquet Hall Parliament Building, Buildings in Wellington. And it's sponsored by the NZX, of course, who are a big supporter of NZSA. Yep. So there's going to be a a number of what do you call it, when publicity type events, when new information of new speakers coming on board. So it's going to be a really good representative of what's going on in the New Zealand market at the moment.

SPEAKER_00 6:36

Mm-hmm. Beautiful. Awesome. Well, thank you, James. I am looking forward to that. I will try to go and register after this episode. Because it does sound fantastic. And I feel like I'm coming to an age where I really need to get my finances in order because I only have half of my lifetime left until I retire.

SPEAKER_01 6:54

So you've only got half it's funny how you say that because I used to think I was halfway at 35. Now I've decided I'm going to try and live to 90, and so now I'm only halfway now. Uh-huh. So you know.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

It keeps moving.

SPEAKER_01 7:05

Uh yeah, got to look after myself.

Kids, KiwiSaver, And Compound Interest

SPEAKER_01 7:07

But you know I've is there an age restriction?

SPEAKER_00 7:10

Could you bring it up?

SPEAKER_01 7:12

I don't think so. No, no, I'd love. I mean, the the best thing to do is to get your kids into this kind of thing.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

Well, that's what I was thinking. My 14-year-old probably would love it.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

Yeah. And just if if nothing else, even if you don't go to the conference or do anything else, look up compound, you know, compound interest. Yeah. And how if you get your kids started, and that's what Dean from Dean Anderson from Kernel and a lot of these guys are doing. They're saying, let's get KiwiSaver started from the moment the kids are born.

SPEAKER_00 7:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:40

Okay. And then they've got a buy-in into this, you know, that's an extra 15 years or whatever the of KiwiSaver. Get them on the right track and they can follow that while they're at school.

SPEAKER_00 7:52

Yeah. And and look, for those that missed out, I actually did an episode on this with David Cobson from Boston. Yeah, you did too. He came as a guest and we talked about, you know, how we can start the kids young and we actually ran some numbers. So go back a few episodes ago, it is the have a look.

Final Thoughts And How To Join

SPEAKER_00 8:06

Fantastic. Awesome. Thank you, James. Thank you.