How does the Total World Fund work?

The Total World Fund is a Kernel PIE fund that provides exposure to the global share market through one vehicle. Under the bonnet, the fund tracks the FTSE Global All Cap Index, one of the most diversified equity indices available anywhere in the world, spanning developed and emerging markets across all company sizes.

Yes, you need a Kernel Plus or Premium subscription to invest in the Total World Fund. If you're on the free plan, you'll need to upgrade to access it. You can do that in the dashboard under your account settings (Plan and billing).

Kernel's membership model exists for a simple reason: it lets us keep fund fees low, with no transaction fees on top.

The Total World Fund carries a 0.12% management fee. No transaction fees, no FX fees, no buy or sell fees. That structure works because membership covers the platform cost. You pay a flat subscription, and in return you get funds with no hidden costs, which matters most if you're contributing regularly.

The management fee is 0.12% per annum. There are no transaction fees, no FX fees and no buy or sell fees on top of that.

The Total World Fund is available to trade now.

You can start trading with as little as $1, just like with all Kernel funds.

No. There are no transaction fees, no FX fees, and no buy or sell fees on the Total World Fund.

The only cost is the 0.12% annual management fee, plus your subscription plan.

Yes, you certainly can. The Total World Fund is available to be included in your Auto-Invest recurring order.

The Total World Fund tracks one of the most diversified equity indices in the world – FTSE Global All Cap Index, which covers large, mid, and small-cap equities across both developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The Total World Fund invests in Vanguard's Total World Stock ETF.

Yes. The Total World Fund is a Portfolio Investment Entity (PIE) fund. That means your returns are taxed at your Prescribed Investor Rate (PIR), which is capped at 28%.

If your income puts you in a higher tax bracket, a PIE fund can be a meaningful saving compared to holding investments outside a PIE structure.

Kernel handles the tax on your behalf, so there's nothing extra you need to do.

The Total World Fund is a PIE fund. Like Kernel's other global funds, it's taxed under the Foreign Investment Fund (FIF) rules.

Kernel handles all the calculations and payments on your behalf. For a full explanation of how this works, see: What tax will I pay - for the Global Funds.

A few key differences. The Kernel Global 100 Fund provides exposure to 100 leading blue-chip companies selected from the S&P Global 1200 Index, while excluding companies involved in controversial weapons.

The Global ESG and Clean Energy funds apply sustainability screens, so they hold a narrower subset of global companies.

Total World is the broadest option - it holds approximately 9,500 companies across both developed and emerging markets, with no sector or sustainability tilt. If you want maximum diversification in a single fund, this is it.

The Total World Fund tracks the FTSE Global All Cap Index, which holds approximately 9,500 companies across developed and emerging markets worldwide. It's the broadest exposure you can get in a single fund. Management fee: 0.12% p.a. Available on Plus and Premium plans only.

The Global 100 fund tracks the S&P Global 100 Ex-Controversial Weapons Index, which holds 100 of the largest blue-chip companies across major global markets. Think Apple, Microsoft, and Nestle. It's more concentrated than the Total World Fund, with a heavy weighting toward US technology. Management fee: 0.25% p.a. Available on all plans.

The S&P 500 Fund tracks 500 of the largest US-listed companies. It's US-only, whereas the Total World Fund and Global 100 both include companies from other countries. Management fee: 0.25% p.a. Available on all plans.

That depends on your personal situation, and we'd encourage you to think carefully before making any changes.

The Total World Fund is designed to be a core global equity holding for customers who want broad diversification in a single fund. It covers more of the world than our Global 100 or S&P 500 funds.

Some customers may choose to hold it alongside their existing funds. Others may prefer it as a standalone global holding. There's no one-size-fits-all answer.

Yes, you can. The Total World Fund is designed to work as a standalone investment. With around 9,500 companies across developed and emerging markets, it gives you broad global diversification in a single fund.

That said, everyone's situation is different. Some customers choose to pair it with other funds, such as a New Zealand equities fund, to adjust their regional exposure.

As a general rule of thumb - if you're contributing roughly $10,000 or more per year, Kernel’s Total World Fund is often the lower-cost option. The more you contribute, and the more frequently you do it, the further the math tips in Kernel's favour.

But we’ll be upfront in saying this product is not the right fit for everyone. If you're sitting on a large balance and making infrequent or very small contributions, a lower management fee with occasional transaction costs may well be a better fit for you. This product is priced for the active contributor, not the passive holder.

Worth noting too: a Kernel subscription unlocks more than just this fund, including Kernel PIE Save and discounted FX fees on Shares and ETFs.

The Total World Fund is only available as an investment through Kernel's Plus and Premium plans. There are no plans to make it available in KiwiSaver at this stage. If that changes, we'll let you know.

New Zealand is one of 47 countries included in the index, so NZ-listed companies that meet the index's size and liquidity criteria could become part of the fund.

That said, New Zealand makes up a very small portion of the fund - less than 0.1% of global market capitalisation - so the weighting is minimal. That's actually one of the benefits: the fund reflects the world as it is, giving you exposure to NZ companies in proportion to their place in the global market, without the overconcentration that comes from investing primarily in local equities.

The Kernel Total World Fund is unhedged. If a hedged version is something you’d be interested in, do let us know as we can put it to the team to consider in future.

A Kernel subscription unlocks more than just this fund - we’ve introduced the Kernel PIE Save onto our paid plans, and you’ll enjoy discounted FX fees if Shares and ETFs are in your portfolio, with more benefits on their way soon.

Your existing holdings in the Total World Fund stay invested. You can sell or hold investments without an active plan, but to make additional contributions you’ll need an active Plus or Premium plan.

If you continue on Core, the rest of Kernel’s 25+ funds range is available to you.

If you've chosen to reinvest your distributions (Kernel's default setting), they'll continue to be automatically reinvested into your existing Total World Fund holdings, even if you no longer have an active Plus or Premium subscription.

Yes. Kernel's kids accounts can buy the Total World Fund. Because it requires a Plus or Premium subscription, you'll need to purchase a subscription for the kids account itself.

The important thing to note here: you cannot buy a subscription while profile-switching from your main account. You'll need to log in to the kids account directly.

Kids accounts are created with a system-generated email address, so you may not have the login details handy. To invest in the Total World Fund through a kids account, you'll need to set up a unique login email for that account.

If you need help logging into your kids account, please ring our team on 0800 537 635 during business hours, with your unique email, and we'll sort it out for you.

No, you only need one active subscription to invest in the Total World Fund through a joint account. Because the subscription is applied at the account level rather than to each individual member, only the joint account itself needs to be upgraded to a Plus or Premium plan. Once the account is upgraded, either member of the joint account can manage the Total World Fund holdings within that portfolio.

The Total World Fund is available for trust and company accounts on both our Plus and Premium plans. To start investing, you will simply need to ensure the specific trust or company account has been upgraded to an active subscription.

To celebrate the launch, start a yearly Plus or Premium membership using the promo code and we’ll take care of your first two months.

You can enter your promo code OWNTHEWORLD at checkout when upgrading to a Plus or Premium plan, before 10 July 2026.

Have an existing Kernel Core account? Click 'Upgrade Now'. Choose your yearly membership and paste your code in the 'Promo Code' box at checkout then click 'Apply'.

A couple of important things to know:

No. You only pay one management fee: Kernel's 0.12% per annum. Kernel covers the cost of the underlying Vanguard fund as part of managing the Total World Fund, so there is nothing extra on top. The other cost is your subscription plan.

Because the Total World Fund invests in Vanguard's Total World Stock ETF rather than holding securities directly, there is some tax that cannot be fully recovered within the PIE structure.

The estimated tax leakage is approximately 0.12% per annum, though this varies depending on the dividend yield of the underlying fund in any given year.

If you have questions about how this affects your personal tax situation, we'd recommend speaking with a tax adviser.