If you haven’t opened an investment fund before, the idea might seem a little daunting. In today’s episode of Bridge talks Business with Milford, Ryan Bridge chats with Maddie Cruickshank, a Senior Associate with Investor Services. She explains how to set up a fund, what risk appetite means, and what support is available to guide you through the process.

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Bridge talks Business: 29 July 2025
Episode Transcript

Ryan Bridge
Kia ora and welcome to episode 43 of Bridge talks Business with Milford. Great to have you on the podcast. Investing. It’s something we hear a lot about. It’s something we talk a lot about on the podcast, but for a lot of people, putting their hard earned cash into anything other than a bank account can be pretty frightening. Today, we want to throw back the curtain on what an investment fund actually is, who can open one, and most importantly, how do you take that first step if you’re not sure what to do?

First, here’s your top five business bits from the past seven days.

1. US corporates are reporting their quarterly earnings at the moment. And results last week from Google show that AI capital spending continues apace. This was enough to make sure that there was a strong market performance for the world’s largest company, Nvidia, which led us share markets to all new highs.
2. Trade deals were once again in the headlines with a US-EU trade deal announced over the weekend. This concludes a set of handshake deals with major trading partners, and sets US tariffs now at between 15 and 20%. The impacts of this, of course, will take time to filter through to other economies. Something that investors are watching very closely in the coming months.
3. Inflation data for the second quarter here was released last week and showed inflation slowing from the previous quarter, driven by falls in both domestic and tradable inflation. On a year-on-year basis, though, inflation was slightly stronger at 2.7%, largely in line with expectations, and as such shouldn’t stop the easing we’re expecting from the Reserve Bank at their next meeting next month.
4. This week sees a plethora of data for investors to get their teeth into. The US Federal Reserve meets – expected to hold rates steady. That will upset the President, you can bet your bottom dollar, but the committee remains concerned about the tariff inflation. It’s yet to be seen in real inflation data and they are watching it closely.
5. Of greater importance is the US labour market data. This has been slowly softening over recent months, and investors are on alert for a sharper break in the employment market in the United States.

So now it’s time for the fun part. This is our feature interview. You’ve done the hard yards already. You’ve earned your cash. You’ve got it stashed away, and you’re ready to invest. You’re ready to grow some wealth for your future. We’re going to tell you today how you can get started on that journey with Maddie Cruickshank. She’s a Senior Associate with Investor Services at Milford and has all the answers for us. Just a reminder, this segment is informational only and should not be considered financial advice. Maddie, welcome to the podcast.

Maddie Cruickshank
Thank you.

Ryan Bridge
Lovely to have you here. I’ve been trying – what are we 43 episodes in, Maddie. I’ve been trying to get you here since episode one!

Maddie Cruickshank
Well, I’m here.

Ryan Bridge
Finally! Alright. So for those people who are watching or listening to the podcast, have heard one of our Milford ads on radio, probably on my show, and thinking, alright, I want to do this. You’re the person that we will get in contact with. You are the person who will help us. So, what exactly is the first step? What do you tell people?

Maddie Cruickshank
So, the first thing that we tell clients to think about, new clients, is what is their investment time frame? How long are you wanting to put the money aside for? What are your goals? Are you trying to buy a first home, save for an asset, or a holiday? And then also understanding what your risk tolerance is. So, how comfortable are you with seeing your balance go up and down.

Ryan Bridge
And that would obviously be determined by how long your runway is. How soon you want to get money out. All those sorts of things.

Maddie Cruickshank
Yes. Absolutely. So all of the funds have recommended time frames. We do suggest that clients try and align their time frame with the funds.

Ryan Bridge
Ah okay. What about an investment fund versus KiwiSaver? What’s the difference? What do I go for? How do I know what I need?

Maddie Cruickshank
Yeah. So on face value they look the same in the sense of the concept, how they invest, where they invest are the same. But KiwiSaver has more rules and regulations built around it. It’s for retirement, first home buying – where with an investment fund you do have that option of being able to take out your money on your terms. There is also a wider range to choose from. So with KiwiSaver, there’s six, with investment funds there’s 11. So, when trying to work out what one’s right for you, it’s really important for you to think about how quickly you need that money. And do you want it in a locked-in product?

Ryan Bridge
I know you can’t tell me, do this, do that.

Maddie Cruickshank
You got it.

Ryan Bridge
So, is there an online tool, like a calculator or something that you could use to help?

Maddie Cruickshank
Yeah. So we have a fantastic digital advice tool in our investment funds space. So this is going to ask you a series of questions of how you may react in a falling market. What is that goal you’re working towards, and what your investment timeframe is. At the end of this tool, it will recommend to you what Milford Fund is suitable for you, based on the way that you’ve answered. And we also have the same tool for KiwiSaver.

Ryan Bridge
Okay, so no matter what type of investment I want to do, it’s going to give me some options and I can do my own homework as well and come up with a own decision.

Maddie Cruickshank
You got it. So we do have clients that will do the advice tool, and they may not see eye-to-eye with it. And then they’ll go away and do their own homework and maybe choose a different option. So, you don’t have to take the advice recommendation that’s given to you. But it is there.

Ryan Bridge
Okay, so that’s done. I’ve spoken with you guys. I’ve gone and used the tool. I’ve picked my investment vehicle. I know the fund I want to get into. How do I get into it? And once I’ve done that, is it all sored? Do I just leave it and walk away?

Maddie Cruickshank
Yeah. So what you’ll need to do is head over to our website. On the right hand side there’s an orange button that says Invest Now. So you’re going to click on this and then select investment funds. You will need to have some valid ID – your passport or driver’s licence -making sure that they are New Zealand – along with your IRD number. If you don’t have valid New Zealand ID, you can do our paper application. But ultimately the application will take you five to seven minutes. Your account will be open and we’ll notify you once you’re ready to make the payment. So, it’s really important to note that we don’t take the money from your bank account. You’re going to pay us and then you’re investing from the get-go.

Ryan Bridge
Okay. That sounds like quite a quick process, is it?

Maddie Cruickshank
Too quick!

Ryan Bridge
So, basically in five to 10 minutes I can have it done.

Maddie Cruickshank
Absolutely. So the account will be open within one to two business days from when you’ve completed it online. We’re going to then tell you how to make that first payment. And it’s really on your terms, because you don’t have to make that payment straight away. You could sit on it for a week or so. It’s up to you.

Ryan Bridge
What about when you are dealing with customers and they’re new to investing? What are the most common kind of questions that you get from people?

Maddie Cruickshank
The most common question, I would say, is can I lose all my money and is it safe? When looking at investment funds, we tend to stay away from the word safe, because safe implies that your money can’t go down. And with an investment fund, we know that there are cycles where they will go up and down. But if you are in it for the long term, that’s where you’re going to see, hopefully, those consistent healthy returns.

Ryan Bridge
And when people call, are they like, finally I’ve gotten around to doing this. I’ve been meaning to do it. It’s been on the list on the fridge and just haven’t got there. Or do you think that people do get a little bit scared about taking that step? And that’s maybe what’s stopped them from doing it in the past. What do you find?

Maddie Cruickshank
I would say that we get a lot of people that off the back will say, I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now. And they’re finding that it could be a conversation that they’ve had at work with someone that has gone, oh, I really should get around to doing that. Or it’s really crazy – at Christmas time, people will call up and start investing. They’re getting ready for the new year – because new year, new me! So that’s really common as well.

Ryan Bridge
Interesting. It must be quite empowering for people – for you to be able to help them, give them a tool. It could be something they’ve been meaning to do for a long time. Maybe throw it on the backburner, maybe get a bit nervous about doing it because it’s a big call. But to be able to set them up on a track to begin an investing journey, is pretty cool.

Maddie Cruickshank
Oh, absolutely. You know what I love about my job, is we are educating people around how to grow their wealth and providing them with information to help them make an informed decision. It’s really rewarding.

Ryan Bridge
Alright. This is all sounding very good, sounding very reasonable. What if I want to get my money out and withdraw it – like early before I intended to – or just cut and run and get my money out all together. What’s the situation then?

Maddie Cruickshank
At the end of the day, it’s your money and you should be able to access it at any time. So you’re not locked in. You’ll be able to do an online withdrawal and the funds are paid back to you within three to four business days. And don’t worry, you’re not penalised. You’re not charged for taking your money out as well.

Ryan Bridge
Right? What about right now? We’ve had a lot of market volatility, especially in the last six months. I mean, things felt like they were going off a cliff. But now they’ve come back and we’re reaching new highs. So when is the right time to jump in.

Maddie Cruickshank
Yeah. This is a really, really, really common question that we get all the time. And while we can’t answer it directly because it may come across as financial advice, what we can say is that there is never really a good time to invest. So if you’ve got the money and you’re ready to go, what’s stopping you from investing? Because ultimately you should be saving for that medium to long term. So what you’re seeing in this short period of time – or maybe even six to 12 months – it shouldn’t be too much of a focus because over that long period of time, that’s where you’re going to see consistent, healthy returns. So we try and steer clients away from trying to time the market and look at time spent in the market.

Ryan Bridge
Nice. That was Maddie Cruickshank. She’s a Senior Associate with Investor Services at Milford. And get in touch with them. You will encounter someone as lovely as Maddie to chat to about what your future might look like and what exactly it is you want for your financial goals and your financial future.

Just a reminder that you can like, follow and subscribe this podcast. We love it when you do. Until next week. Don’t forget to invest in yourselves.

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