The two most common questions we are asked about buying and selling managed funds are:

• How long does it take my buy or sell order to be completed?
• Do buy or sell spreads apply to the funds I am interested in?

The answers to both questions differ for each fund/fund manager so we have created two FAQs which hopefully cover both questions for you.

Settlement timeframes

The cut-off time for the receipt of buy or sell orders and cleared funds for all Funds is currently 12pm NZ time.

If buy or sell orders are accepted before the cut-off time for a Fund on a valuation day, units will normally be issued at the issue price determined at the end of that day. If buy or sell orders are accepted at or after the cut-off time on a valuation day, units will normally be issued at the end of the following valuation day.

The timeframes for processing your orders are usually within the working day timeframes here.   Please note that the first working day is the working day after you have placed your buy or sell order, with that order having been placed and authorised before 12pm.

Buy and sell spreads

When you buy or sell units in a fund, you may be charged a buy or sell spread. The buy spread is added to the unit price when you buy units, and the sell spread is deducted from the unit price when you sell units. For example: if you invest $10,000 into a fund with a 0.10% buy spread, the buy spread would be added to the price, bringing the starting value of your investment to $9,990.

Buy or sell spreads are intended to cover the transaction costs of buying or selling the underlying assets of a fund, so that these costs are not borne by other investors in the fund. Here you can find more about which funds charge buy/sell spreads and, if so, what the value of the spreads are.