Your investment on your terms
Squirrel is 100% Kiwi-owned and operated, and your money will only ever be used to build, buy, or renovate New Zealand homes, with fair fees and interest rates for everyone.
Squirrel offers three term investment classes you can choose to invest into, plus a managed fund for those who like to set and forget, or to take advantage of the PIE tax rates if you’re a higher income earner.
How much could I be earning with Squirrel?
Calculate how much interest you could be getting paid every month. It all adds up!
*This calculator is intended as a guide for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to provide financial advice. It assumes that the amounts entered are invested for the entire period selected and the returns are based on the interest rate selected. The calculation results do not take into account taxes that may be applicable to you (including withholding tax). Please note that interest rates offered on our platform are subject to change and our minimum investment amount is currently $100. To talk to one of our team at Squirrel, please call 0800 21 22 30 or you can find more information about P2P investing here. We recommend seeking financial advice about your situation and goals before investing into any financial product.
Risk and return options
Our term investments have different returns and risk profiles so you can choose what you're most comfortable with.
Get your money out early
Opportunity to get your money back out by selling your investment on our secondary market at no cost to you.
Reserve funds provide protection
Any missed payments or defaults by our borrowers have the protection offered by reserve funds for your peace of mind.
Here's what Squirrel investors earned last month
Weighted average return for term investments last month
We've got options to suit your appetite
Conservative
Tend to deliver regular reliable returns, with strong principal protections in place. Returns are likely to be higher than holding investments in cash, and lower than investments in moderate, balanced or growth opportunities.
6.50%p.a.
variable rate
Average time to withdraw 1
12 minutes
Term – up to 7 years
Moderate
Can deliver regular reliable returns with strong principal protections in place. Returns are likely to be higher than holding investments in cash or conservative products, however the underlying investment risk is higher. Returns are likely to be lower than investing directly into balanced or growth opportunities (property and shares) over the long term.
7.00%p.a.
variable rate
Average time to withdraw 1
2 hours
Term – up to 2 years
Moderate
Can deliver regular reliable returns with strong principal protections in place. Returns are likely to be higher than holding investments in cash or conservative products, however the underlying investment risk is higher. Returns are likely to be lower than investing directly into balanced or growth opportunities (property and shares) over the long term.
7.75%p.a.
fixed rate
Average time to withdraw 1
6.4 days
Term – up to 7 years
Moderate
Can deliver regular reliable returns with strong principal protections in place. Returns are likely to be higher than holding investments in cash or conservative products, however the underlying investment risk is higher. Returns are likely to be lower than investing directly into balanced or growth opportunities (property and shares) over the long term.
7.54%p.a.
1 year fund return as at 31/08/24. After fees, before tax
Average time to withdraw 2
<30 days
Term – rolling 30 days
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns. All returns are displayed after fees and before the deduction of any applicable taxes. The variable and fixed interest rates above are subject to change. Fixed interest rates are fixed for the duration of an investment once it has commenced. Terms and conditions apply.
1. The average times to withdraw are the weighted average times to sell an investment on the secondary market over the last 7 days.
2. We endeavour to pay redemption amounts within 30 days of the first business day after receiving your request
Start earning returns on your savings
More about our 3 term investment classes:
Home Loans
You're investing into loans for homeowners that are secured by a first mortgage over residential property, with maximum 80% LVR. All our borrowers are assessed by our experienced credit team and there's also a reserve fund to help manage risk.
This investment class is considered conservative risk level.
Construction Loans
You're investing into loans to builders and small-scale property developers with a maximum loan size of $2m. All loans are secured by a first mortgage over residential property, with maximum 80% LVR. As with all our investment classes, this class has it's own reserve fund to help manage risk.
This investment class is considered moderate risk level.
Personal Loans
Your investment contributes towards personal loans for homeowners for things like renovations. Any loans over $20k are secured by caveat, second mortgage or PPSR registration. The maximum loan size is $120k and this class has it's own reserve fund in case of any borrower defaults.
This investment class is considered moderate risk level.
Still got questions? Our Chief Operations Officer Dave answers your most frequently asked questions below.
Have a chat with our friendly team
If you've come up with your own set of questions, the investing team is here to help.
Book a chat at a time that suits and we'll call you.
Looking after your money is our number one priorityAs well as stashing away reserves for a rainy day, we've got enhanced security, working tirelessly to protect your investment
As well as stashing away reserves for a rainy day, we've got enhanced security, working tirelessly to protect your investment
Money goes 1 way in, 1 way out
That means money can only be transferred to a verified bank account in your name.
Your money is held in trust
It's locked away on your behalf, and only moves on your instruction.
We're reviewed annually by KPMG
KPMG review our systems and processes, and audit our financial statements annually.
Bank-grade technology
01001000 01101001 00100001...not sure what that means? That's ok, we've got a team of experts who do.
Meet David, our Chief Squirrel
David Cunningham has more years of banking experience than he'd like to admit. And because he's seen it all (and has the battle scars to prove it), he knows there are better ways to reward savers. In fact David's earning returns for himself on the Squirrel platform right now, and so are his family.
We're not kidding when we say we're passionate about challenging the status quo and building better value for our community of savers (you should see how animated David gets at our team meetings).
Investor fees & margins
Our lending fees are fair, considered and competitive. There’s nothing vague or hidden with Squirrel and we won’t sting you down the line.
| What it is | Who pays it | |
|---|---|---|
| Service Margin | Personal Loans 1.45% - 5.95% p.a. of the loan balance deducted from the gross loan repayment. Home Loans and Construction Loans 0.70% - 2.75% p.a. of the loan balance deducted from the gross loan repayment. On-Call Accounts up to 0.25% p.a. being the difference between the interest rate we receive from the bank(s) where your On-Call Account money is held and the interest rate you earn on your On-Call Account balance. |
Charged to the Investor by deducting from the Borrower’s repayments. The applicable service margin is dependent on the risk grade of the Borrower - lower risk loans carry a lower service margin.
|
| Reserve Levy | 0.10% - 3.25% p.a. of the loan balance deducted from the gross loan payment. | The Reserve Levy for each loan is dictated by the assessed credit risk of the borrower. Reserve Levies are held on Trust for the benefit of Investors. The Reserve Levy is charged against the gross investor return. The Prevailing Interest Rate for each investment class is the rate net of the Service Margin and Reserve Levy. |
| Annual fund charges | Peer to peer term investments: no annual fund charges Squirrel Monthly Income Fund: 2.00% p.a. incl GST |
Squirrel Monthly Income Fund annual fund charges are deducted monthly from distributions. |
Keep on top of what's going on
For the latest news and views on saving and investing, check out our blog.
Why do falling mortgage rates mean lower returns on my savings? And what can I do about it?
With the OCR on the way down again, chances are you've already started to notice that chipping away at the returns you earn on your savings. Here, we explain why that is, and what options are out there for savers looking to still earn great returns, even in a falling rate environment.
Squirrel reviews all the different ways we work to keep your money and data safe
When you hand over your money and personal data to a business, you want to know you can count on them to do right by you—and with your money, and data. At Squirrel, we take this responsibility seriously, and so here we're reviewing all the measures we have in place to keep your money and data safe.
Investor update - October 2024
The latest update on investor activity, changes to On-Call account and term investment interest rates, updated investment wait times and what's happening with personal loans.
Don’t just take our word for it
Shayne
New Zealand
It's great
Anonymous Customer
New Zealand
Straight forward instructions to invest.
Paramveer
New Zealand
Am very happy with the service and the interest i get on money. Thanks
Gen
New Zealand
I'm still learning how to decide when and where to invest or reinvest. Feel comfortable that I don't have to make quick decisions and don't need to keep checking how things are.