International Equities · median of disclosed returns
Average international equities fund returns in NZ, year by year
The median after-fee return across NZ retail international equities managed funds for each year on record, next to the median of the market indexes those funds measure themselves against. Every underlying number is a disclosed figure from an FMA-mandated fund update; nothing is modelled. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
Median 5y return
8.31%
p.a. after fees, 43 funds reporting
Strongest median year
36.83%
2021
Weakest median year
-3.65%
2020
Median return by year
| Year | Median fund return | Median index return | Funds in sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 14.78% | 18.06% | 55 |
| 2025 | 7.16% | 9.06% | 7 |
| 2024 | 25.66% | 27.48% | 8 |
| 2022 | 3.62% | 8.16% | 40 |
| 2021 | 36.83% | 38.17% | 40 |
| 2020 | -3.65% | -4.25% | 30 |
| 2019 | 5.04% | 7.09% | 29 |
| 2018 | 9.22% | 11.38% | 26 |
| 2017 | 12.99% | 15.66% | 25 |
| 2016 | -0.33% | -0.95% | 15 |
| 2015 | 15.91% | 17.48% | 15 |
| 2014 | 15.83% | 16.81% | 12 |
| 2013 | 10.00% | 11.20% | 10 |
"Median index return" is the median of the market-index figures each fund disclosed alongside its own return — indexes differ between funds. Years with fewer than 3 reporting funds are omitted. Fund-level detail: all international equities funds · 5-year leaderboard · fund-vs-index consistency.
Questions about category averages
What is the average return of a international equities fund in NZ?
Across NZ retail international equities funds with a reported figure, the median 5-year after-fees return is 8.31% p.a. In the most recent year on record (2026), the median after-fee return was 14.78% across 55 funds. "Average" here means the median of disclosed figures — not a forecast. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
Why use the median rather than the mean?
A handful of outlier funds can drag a mean up or down; the median is the middle fund, which better represents what a typical fund in the category actually returned. Every underlying figure is a disclosed after-fee return from the fund's own FMA-mandated fund update.
How often do international equities funds lose money?
Of the 13 years on record here, the category's median after-fee return was positive in 11 and negative in 2. The weakest median year was 2020 (-3.65%). Individual funds vary around the median in both directions.