Forsyth Barr launches New Zealand's first guided investment app, Tempo
New guided investment app, Tempo is now available to download in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Setting Tempo apart from the crowd, the app provides New Zealanders with guidance on how they should invest their money throughout their investment journey. Tempo is designed to reduce the complexities when it comes to investing, enabling Kiwis to invest with confidence to achieve their financial goals.
Tempo launches at a time where there is growing concern amongst New Zealanders (79%) about their long-term financial security2. Beyond that, 56% of Kiwi indicated they do not have a long term plan for their money or don’t know how to get started with a plan.
Tempo is on a mission to help New Zealanders grow confidence in their financial future and encourage people to develop good money habits.
“We want to make setting financial goals and investing with a plan feel simple and empowering for kiwis, and we know there’s a number of barriers when it comes to investing”
says Blair Willems, Head of Tempo.
Research shows that for New Zealanders who have never invested in the share market, the primary reasons were; they didn’t know where to start (27%), understand how the share market works (24%) and what companies or funds to select (22%)2. The same research revealed that 45% of New Zealanders have never received financial advice.
“Tempo is designed to be easy to understand, even if you’re new to investing, guiding you as soon as you get started”
continues Willems,
“We’ve spoken to hundreds of New Zealanders while building Tempo, identifying consistent and important themes; people are looking for more guidance and a feeling of confidence when it comes to making decisions around saving and investing, and Tempo aims to provide that.”
Once you’ve downloaded Tempo, it helps you to decide what type of investor you are and plan a money goal. Based on this, Tempo recommends a customised mix to invest in from its range of funds. From there, Tempo makes it easy to invest towards your goal through simple bank payments. It doesn’t stop there - importantly, Tempo continues to make investment recommendations over time to keep you on track to reach your goal.
“These recommendations are where Forsyth Barr’s experience and expertise in investing come into play”
says Chelsea Leadbetter, Head of Wealth Development, and member of the Tempo Investment Committee.
“Providing New Zealanders with guidance on what to invest in, and when to make changes to those investments, addresses many of the problems current investors face, and ensures they have an appropriate mix of investments to match their goals”.
The app leverages the expertise of leading investment advisory firm Forsyth Barr, who have been helping Kiwi invest for more than 85 years.
Existing investment apps in New Zealand commonly leave customers to select companies or funds to invest in without financial advice. If they do offer advice, it’s often only “point in time” - it’s usually up to the customer to remember to check in at a later date to get updated information or advice, and the customer also has to figure out when or how often to check in. This can leave people unsure of where to start and how to move forward.
Tempo is an intuitive and innovative experience designed to make investing, both getting started and staying on track, easy. Tempo’s Head of CX and Design, Maia Visnovsky says
"We’ve spent a lot of time speaking with New Zealanders to understand how they plan towards their financial goals and how Tempo could help them achieve it. One of our priorities is to ensure the app is easy to use and guides you along the way. We've done this by simplifying the onboarding process, removing investment jargon and providing useful bite sized information every step of the way."
Tempo is now available to the wider public after the successful completion of its Early Access programme, which launched in August this year.
“As we conclude our Early Access programme and open Tempo up to a wider audience, we are looking forward to seeing many more Kiwi building their financial future with the support of Tempo”,
says Willems.
Anyone can now download Tempo from the App Store or Google Play store. More information about Tempo is available at www.tempo.co.nz.
1. Tempo Limited provides financial advice in New Zealand as an authorised body under Forsyth Barr Limited’s financial advice provider licence. Tempo’s financial advice disclosure is also available on the Tempo website.
2. Research conducted by Pure Profile in July 2023. NZ rep. sample of 1,004 respondents.
3. The Forsyth Barr Funds are issued by Forsyth Barr Investment Management Limited. The Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for the Forsyth Barr Funds is available on the Tempo website – www.tempo.co.nz.
