Fund-vs-fund · Diversified
ACI Growth Fund vs Clarity Diversified Growth Fund
Both are Diversified funds available to NZ retail investors. Numbers below are sourced from the FMA Disclose register via Sorted Smart Investor and reflect the latest published quarterly fund updates.
Why these two differ
The most material structural difference between these two funds is their allocation to growth assets. The Clarity Diversified Growth Fund holds 98.31% in growth assets, making it nearly fully committed to equities and similar exposures, while the ACI Growth Fund sits at 78.34% — a gap of roughly 20 percentage points that has direct implications for return variability, even though both funds share a risk indicator of 4 out of 7. Despite the similar risk ratings, investors in the Clarity fund carry meaningfully less income-asset buffering.
On fees, ACI charges an annual fund charge of 1.61%, compared to Clarity's 1.16% — a difference of 45 basis points that compounds over time. Both funds are small by industry standards, with ACI at approximately NZD 7.66 million and Clarity at approximately NZD 8.77 million.
Portfolio construction also differs. ACI's top holdings lean on Dimensional fund-of-funds structures with explicit sustainability labelling and include emerging markets exposure (13.3%) alongside NZ equities. Clarity concentrates its two largest positions in the Capital Group New Perspective Fund across two share classes (combined roughly 25.7%), with direct equity holdings such as Meridian Energy and BHP rounding out its top five.
On five-year returns, Clarity discloses 7.92% per annum; ACI's latest Quarterly Fund Update does not report a five-year return figure in this snapshot, so a direct performance comparison cannot be made.
Always verify all figures against each fund's current Product Disclosure Statement and latest Quarterly Fund Update on FMA Disclose before relying on any of this information.
Cached comparison generated 2026-05-21 from each fund's latest FMA Disclose QFU. Regenerated when the underlying facts change.
What's different at a glance
- Clarity Diversified Growth Fund charges 0.45% lower in annual fund charges (1.16% vs 1.61%).
- Both are New Zealand PIE funds — investor tax is capped at the Prescribed Investor Rate (PIR), maximum 28%.
Where each fund sits in its cohort
Percentile rank vs all 67 diversified funds we've matched on Sorted Smart Investor. Mechanical only — no opinion, no forward-looking view.
Annual fund charge
Lower is better
ACI
1.61%
Highest 4% of cohort
Clarity
1.16%
Upper half of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
ACI
—
—
Clarity
7.92%
Top 1% over 5 years
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
ACI
NZ$8m
Smallest 14% in cohort
Clarity
NZ$9m
Smallest 16% in cohort
| Metric | ACI | Clarity | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | 1.61% | 1.16% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | 4 | 4 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | — | 7.92% | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | NZ$8m | NZ$9m | Larger = more stable, lower close-risk |
| Growth / income split | 78% / 22% | 98% / 2% | More growth = higher long-run return + volatility |
| NZ tax structure | PIE (PIR-capped) | PIE (PIR-capped) | PIE = simpler. FIF = annual return. |
| Currency hedging | — | — | Hedged smooths NZD/foreign FX moves at a small cost. |
| Responsible investment screening | No | No | Specific exclusions live in each fund's SIPO. |
| Available via | InvestNow | InvestNow · Direct | Platforms accepting retail subscriptions. |
Portfolio overlap
How many top-10 positions both funds hold, and at what weight. Computed from each fund's most recently disclosed top-10 holdings — exact-name matched (Microsoft Corp. = Microsoft Corporation), with a Cash / Cash & Equivalents collapse rule.
Matching holdings
2
of each fund's top 10
ACI weight in shared
5.5%
of ACI Growth Fund top 10 is shared
Clarity weight in shared
2.7%
of Clarity Diversified Growth Fund top 10 is shared
| Holding | ACI | Clarity |
|---|---|---|
 Nvidia Corp US | 2.72% | 1.43% |
 Apple Inc US | 2.74% | 1.30% |
"Min weight" = the smaller of the two weights — a conservative read of how much exposure you'd have to that position if you held both funds.
What each fund says it does
ACI
ACI Growth Fund
The Fund invests predominantly in growth assets such as New Zealand, Australian, international shares and property but includes some income assets. The allocations include a bias towards international diversification, and exposure to these asset classes is achieved by primarily investing in DFA Australia Limited (Dimensional) funds, utilising their Sustainability Trusts where available. Certain underlying Dimensional funds have an increased exposure to shares in small companies, value companies and companies with higher profitability with the objective of benefittFull ACI ACI Growth Fund profile →
Clarity
Clarity Diversified Growth Fund
The Fund will provide actively managed exposure to New Zealand, Australian and international equities, and aims to generate a better return than the benchmark over the medium to long term. The Fund primarily invests in managed funds (including other Clarity funds) to achieve a well-diversified portfolio of assets.Full Clarity Clarity Diversified Growth Fund profile →
Common questions
What's the difference between the ACI Growth Fund and the Clarity Diversified Growth Fund?
Which fund has lower fees, ACI Growth Fund or Clarity Diversified Growth Fund?
Are both funds PIE-taxed in NZ?
Where can I read the official documents for these funds?
