What does my Sharesies portfolio actually own?
Every holding in your Sharesies portfolio is a slice of something bigger. Here's what each type of investment actually is, what's inside your funds, and who holds it all on your behalf.
The short answer
When you invest through Sharesies, you're the beneficial owner of what you buy: shares in companies, or units in funds such as ETFs and managed funds. A fund unit is a slice of a fund that in turn owns many companies, sometimes hundreds or thousands.
Sharesies' terms say your investments are held on bare trust by a separate company, Sharesies Nominee Limited. That company's name (or a sub-custodian's) goes on the registers, but the investments are held for you, not owned by Sharesies.1
What do I own when I buy a share?
A share is a small piece of ownership in a company. Own a share and you own part of that business: you share in any profits it pays out as dividends, and your share's value rises and falls with its share price.
Sharesies has no minimum investment, so you can own a fraction of a share.2 A fraction moves exactly like a whole share in value: if the price rises 5%, your fraction rises 5% too.
What do I own when I buy an ETF or a managed fund?
You own units in a fund. The fund pools money from lots of investors and uses it to buy a collection of investments, either by following an index or by a manager choosing them. So one line in your portfolio can stand for hundreds of companies.
Here's what $100 in a fund that tracks the S&P 500 was made of in mid-October 2026.
$100 in an S&P 500 fund, using real fund weights from 16 October 2026
What your app shows (1 holding)
- S&P 500 fund$100.00
504
holdings inside that one line.
What's inside your $100
$38.34
sits in the fund's 10 biggest holdings (9 companies; Alphabet has two share classes).
- NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft$21.39
- Amazon, Alphabet$9.18
- Meta, Broadcom, Eli Lilly, Tesla$7.77
- The other 494 holdings$61.66
Weights from the SPDR S&P 500 ETF on 16 October 2026:3 NVIDIA 7.85%, Apple 7.59%, Microsoft 5.95%, Amazon 3.72%, Alphabet 5.46% (two share classes), Meta 2.37%, Broadcom 2.37%, Eli Lilly 1.52%, Tesla 1.51%. Other S&P 500 funds hold very similar, not identical, weights, and the weights change every day.
That's why two funds with different names can hold many of the same companies. If you own more than one fund, it's worth knowing what's inside each. Our page on whether your portfolio is diversified shows how to check for overlap.
How can I see what's inside my funds?
Every fund publishes what it holds. The fund provider's website usually has a fact sheet with the top holdings, and many publish a full list.
For funds based in New Zealand, including KiwiSaver funds, the quarterly fund update has a “Top 10 investments” table. You can look funds up on Sorted's Smart Investor.4
Who actually holds my investments?
According to Sharesies' Invest Terms and Conditions (last updated 15 October 2026):1
- You're the beneficial owner of the money in your Wallet and the investments in your account.
- They're held on bare trust for you by Sharesies Nominee Limited, a non-trading company that exists to hold investors' money and investments.
- NZX-listed shares and managed funds are held in Sharesies Nominee Limited's name. US-listed shares are held in the name of a US sub-custodian, DriveWealth.
Holding investments this way is common for investing platforms, and it's what makes fractions and small amounts possible. One practical difference: because your own name isn't on the company's register, you won't usually hear from the company directly, and Sharesies' terms explain how it handles shareholder votes and other corporate actions, including for fractional shares.
What happens to my investments if Sharesies closes?
Sharesies' terms say the money in your Wallet and the investments in your portfolio “cannot legally be used to pay Sharesies' debts”, and that they're protected from the general creditors of Sharesies and of its sub-custodians.1
Two things are worth keeping in mind. If any platform did close, sorting out and moving everyone's holdings could take time. And this protection is about who owns your investments, not what they're worth: if the investments themselves fall in value, that's market risk, which no custody arrangement removes.
Common questions
Do I actually own my shares on Sharesies?
Yes, as the beneficial owner. Sharesies' terms say your investments are held on bare trust for you by a separate company, Sharesies Nominee Limited (or a sub-custodian for US shares). The legal name on the register is the custodian's, but the investments are held for you.
Why isn't my name on the share register?
Because the investments are held in the custodian's name on behalf of all Sharesies investors, which is how platforms make small amounts and fractions possible. Sharesies' own records show which investments are yours.
What is a fractional share?
A fractional share is part of one share, such as 0.25 of a share. Its value moves in step with the full share price. Fractions let you invest small amounts in companies whose single share costs more than you want to put in.
What happens if Sharesies goes bust?
Sharesies' terms say customers' money and investments are held separately by Sharesies Nominee Limited and cannot legally be used to pay Sharesies' debts. That protects who owns your investments; it doesn't protect their value if markets fall, and moving holdings after any platform closes could take time.
Is an ETF on Sharesies the same as owning the companies?
Not directly. You own units in the fund, and the fund owns the companies. Your units rise and fall with the value of everything the fund holds, after the fund's fees.
General information, not financial advice. This page explains how investing works in general. It doesn't take your situation, goals or attitude to risk into account, and it isn't a recommendation to buy, sell or hold anything. Investing involves risk: the value of your investments can go down as well as up, and you could get back less than you put in. Figures are from the sources below on the dates shown, and may have changed since.
Sources
- Sharesies, Invest Terms and Conditions, last updated 15 October 2026 (Parts 2, 4 and 5). Checked 20 October 2026.
- Sharesies, Investments overview: types of investment and no minimum amount. Checked 20 October 2026.
- State Street, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY): number of holdings and top 10 weights, as of 16 October 2026.
- Sorted, Smart Investor: quarterly fund updates for NZ funds, including KiwiSaver.
See inside your own portfolio
Vestro reads your portfolio, read-only, and explains what you own in plain English. Vestro is independent: it isn't part of, or endorsed by, Sharesies.
Get started Education, not advice. Vestro explains; it never tells you what to buy or sell.