Bonus Bond Wind-up

One of our team quipped that gaining a half decent payout from these bonds was like laying bricks end to end the length of NZ with your one painted white and then having a blind man randomly tapping his cane on yours as the winner. Despite this hope has always been a great persuader and wins out over logic and mathematical probability time and time again.

Bonus Bonds were launched by the old Post Office in 1970 by the New Zealand Government. Each Bonus Bond gives its holder an entry into a monthly prize draw, and the investment returns of the same are returned in the form of monthly prizes. The top prize is $1 million. The September and October prize draws are expected to happen as normal.

ANZ is winding up the Bonus Bonds from the end of October. Low interest rates have reduced the investment returns of the scheme which affects the size of the prize pool. It has now become apparent those trends are likely to continue... Said the Head of ANZ Retail Banking. No new money can now be invested. All Bond holders will face a forced two-option choice of getting their money back.

Redeem your Bonus Bonds before the scheme starts to wind up, or stay in the scheme and potentially be entitled to a share of any remaining reserves, after expenses, when the scheme is officially wound up. Those who choose to stay during the wind-up phase will have their money locked in during this process. It may take up to 12 months. The board believes current reserves are sufficient for bondholders to be confident they will receive back their initial investment, but they give no indication of any residual surplus or its size.