Sharesies NZ 2026: How It Works, Fees and What to Know

If you have looked into how to start investing in New Zealand, you have almost certainly come across Sharesies — the country’s most widely used retail investment platform. This guide sets out, factually, how it works, what it currently costs in 2026, the tax you need to understand, how safe it is and how it sits against the alternatives. It is general information, not financial advice or a recommendation to invest.

What Sharesies is and how it works

Sharesies lets everyday New Zealanders buy shares, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and managed funds across the NZX (New Zealand), ASX (Australia) and major United States markets, all from one app or web browser. An ETF is a single fund that holds a basket of shares and trades like one share; a managed fund pools your money with other investors and is run by a fund manager.

Its defining feature is fractional investing: there is no set minimum, so you can buy a slice of a company or fund rather than a whole share. A single share in some large US companies costs hundreds or thousands of dollars, so fractions let you build a diversified holding without a large lump sum.

One structural point matters. Sharesies uses a custodial model — you do not appear on a company’s share register in your own name. Instead your investments are held on your behalf by Sharesies Nominee Limited, a separate legal entity from the Sharesies business. That separation is what protects your holdings if the Sharesies company itself ran into trouble. It is not a bank, though, and there is no capital guarantee: values rise and fall with the market.

What you can invest in

Sharesies offers one of the broadest menus of any New Zealand retail platform — it advertises more than 10,000 shares and ETFs across the NZX, ASX and US markets, plus a range of managed funds, all available fractionally with no set minimum. Beyond straight share investing it has expanded into a KiwiSaver scheme, a Save account for cash, a Spend account with a debit card, select cryptocurrencies, and more recently car and pet insurance and online wills.

That breadth is a genuine strength for beginners who want everything in one place. If your main goal is simply a home for spare cash rather than market exposure, compare the Save account’s rate against a dedicated high-interest savings account before deciding where the money should sit.

What Sharesies costs in 2026

Understanding the fees is the most important part of evaluating any platform, and Sharesies has repriced several times, so it is worth being current. There is no fee to open or hold an investing account, no inactivity fee and no fee to withdraw to your NZ bank account (top-ups and withdrawals are in NZD only). The costs that apply are:

• Transaction fee: 1.9% of each buy or sell order, with a per-market cap — about NZ$25 on NZ orders, AU$15 on Australian orders and US$5 on US orders. The cap only bites on larger orders (roughly above NZ$1,316, AU$805 and US$264), so on small orders you pay the full 1.9%.
• Currency exchange fee: 0.5% each time you convert between NZD and AUD or USD, charged on Australian and US trades.
• Monthly plans: optional subscriptions of $3, $7 or $15 a month that cover the transaction fees on a set dollar amount of orders each month (broadly $500, $1,000 and $5,000 of buy/sell orders respectively, with a higher separate allowance for auto-invest). The $7 and $15 plans add Airpoints, and there is a $1 kids plan for Kids Accounts.
• Crypto: a higher 0.8% transaction fee plus the 0.5% currency exchange fee.
• Spend account (debit card): around $25 a year (less with a plan), with a few free ATM withdrawals a month before a per-withdrawal charge applies.

The practical takeaway: for regular US or Australian investing, the 1.9% transaction fee (up to the cap) plus the 0.5% currency fee is real friction that compounds over time, and it is where Sharesies is least competitive against US-focused specialists. For NZX investing, a monthly plan can make frequent trading cost-effective once you are triggering enough transaction fees to cover the plan cost. The right choice depends entirely on your order sizes, how often you invest and which markets you use — so work out your own likely annual cost rather than rely on a headline rate.

Tax for Sharesies investors

New Zealand’s tax rules for share investors are more complex than many beginners expect, and Sharesies does not handle all of it for you. Sharesies provides an annual tax report to help you file your return, but it does not give tax advice. The main things to understand:

• Dividends from NZ and Australian companies are taxable income. NZ dividends often carry imputation credits that reduce the tax owed.
• PIE funds: managed funds structured as Portfolio Investment Entities are taxed at your Prescribed Investor Rate (PIR), which is capped at 28% — potentially below a marginal income-tax rate of up to 39% for higher earners. Make sure the correct PIR is recorded.
• Foreign Investment Fund (FIF) rules: once the cost of your offshore shares and funds passes NZ$50,000, FIF rules generally apply to the whole offshore portfolio. You can then be taxed on a deemed return — commonly 5% of the opening market value under the Fair Dividend Rate method — even in a year your portfolio fell or paid no income. The Government’s 2026 Budget proposed lifting this threshold to NZ$100,000, but as of September 2026 that change was not yet law, so $50,000 remains the operative figure.
• Capital gains: New Zealand has no general capital gains tax, but if Inland Revenue considers you are trading for profit rather than investing long-term, those gains can be taxable. Frequent traders should seek advice.

For the wider picture of how personal income is taxed in New Zealand, see our guide to New Zealand’s tax rates. If you are approaching the FIF threshold, plan for it and talk to an accountant familiar with NZ investment tax.

Is Sharesies safe?

There are two separate dimensions here. On regulatory safety, Sharesies is licensed by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) and must comply with the Financial Markets Conduct Act, and client assets sit in a custodial trust separate from Sharesies’ own balance sheet — so a business failure at Sharesies would not put your investments among its creditors’ assets.

On investment risk, your returns depend entirely on the underlying investments; prices fall as well as rise, and there is no capital guarantee. That is true of every investing platform. Note too that Sharesies is not a bank and is not covered by the Reserve Bank’s Depositor Compensation Scheme, which protects eligible bank deposits up to $100,000 per person per institution — a different kind of product with different protection.

How Sharesies compares

Sharesies does not operate in a vacuum, and the “best” platform depends on your style rather than there being a single winner. In broad terms: US-focused platforms can be cheaper for regular US share and ETF investing; fund-focused platforms suit low-cost managed-fund and index investing, often with no transaction fee; and full-service brokers offer personalised advice for larger portfolios at higher cost. For one named alternative in depth, see our Hatch Invest review.

Because every provider prices differently and changes its fees over time, compare the current cost for your typical order size before deciding — many experienced investors use Sharesies for NZX holdings and a specialist elsewhere for US ETFs.

Sharesies for beginners

Sharesies has invested heavily in accessibility: its “Learn” content is genuinely useful for people starting out, the interface is clean, and no minimum removes the “I need a big lump sum first” barrier. A few practical pointers:

• Start with NZX ETFs or managed funds to keep fee drag low while you learn.
• Understand the $50,000 FIF threshold before your offshore holdings grow into it.
• Use auto-invest to make regular contributions — investing a fixed amount on a schedule (dollar-cost averaging) smooths out the effect of market timing.
• Do not neglect KiwiSaver. For most Kiwis, capturing employer and government contributions should come before direct share investing; our KiwiSaver guide explains why, and you can gauge options against the performing KiwiSaver funds. Sharesies complements KiwiSaver rather than replacing it.

The bottom line

For breadth of access, ease of use and the ability to start small, Sharesies is a well-regulated, structurally sound platform that is hard to beat as a first step. If you are focused specifically on cheap US investing or the lowest-cost managed funds, a specialist may serve you better on cost. As with any platform, the risks are investment risks — so match your fund choices to your timeframe, understand the fees you will actually trigger, and get tax advice as your offshore holdings grow.

Disclaimer

This article is general information about Sharesies and investing in New Zealand. It is not financial or tax advice and not a recommendation to invest in any platform or product. Investing carries risk, including the risk of losing money, and past performance does not predict future returns. Fees, features and tax rules change — the details here reflect 2026 and should be confirmed with Sharesies and Inland Revenue before you act. Consider advice from a licensed financial adviser or an accountant for your own situation, and for free, independent guidance see Sorted (sorted.org.nz).

Frequently asked questions

What does Sharesies cost?

Transaction fees are 1.9% per order with a per-market cap (about NZ$25, AU$15 and US$5), plus a 0.5% currency exchange fee on US and Australian trades. Optional monthly plans of $3, $7 or $15 buy down transaction fees for frequent investors, and there is a $1 kids plan. There is no account, inactivity or standard withdrawal fee. Crypto trades cost more (0.8% plus the 0.5% currency fee). Always check Sharesies’ pricing page, as fees change.

Is Sharesies safe?

Sharesies is FMA-licensed and holds your investments in a custodial structure via Sharesies Nominee Limited, legally separate from its own business, so a failure at Sharesies would not put your investments among its creditors’ assets. But it is not a bank and carries no capital guarantee — investment values rise and fall with the market, and it is not covered by the Depositor Compensation Scheme.

Do I pay tax on my Sharesies investments?

Yes, in several ways. Dividends are taxable income; PIE funds are taxed at your Prescribed Investor Rate, capped at 28%; and if the cost of your offshore holdings exceeds NZ$50,000, the Foreign Investment Fund rules can tax you on a deemed return. New Zealand has no general capital gains tax, but active trading can be taxable. Sharesies gives you a tax report but not tax advice.

What can I invest in on Sharesies?

More than 10,000 shares and ETFs across the NZX, ASX and US markets, plus a range of managed funds, all available fractionally with no set minimum. Sharesies also offers a KiwiSaver scheme, a Save account, a Spend account with a debit card, select cryptocurrencies, and car and pet insurance.

Can under-18s use Sharesies?

Sharesies is open to New Zealanders aged 16 and over in their own name. For children under 18, an adult can set up and manage a Kids Account, which can be transferred to the child once they are old enough to run it themselves.