‘It keeps you on your toes’: Wisdom from Milford’s ‘oldest’ fund manager

According to Morningstar, Stephen Johnston’s fund is NZ’s best performing aggressive fund on a five-year basis. (Image: Supplied)

Gregor Thompson

Thu, 09 Jan 2025

Milford’s Aggressive KiwiSaver Fund turned five this year. When it did, it became the best fund in its category on a five-year basis in Morningstar’s quarterly fund report, released in September. When he launched it in 2019, the fund’s manager Stephen Johnston said people told him he was crazy because markets had already rallied. “This was 2019. Not long after that, the global pandemic arrived. And then we had the first war in Europe in 75 years and the highest inflation in 40 years,” he said. “So...

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