Fund-vs-fund · Australasian Equities
ANZ Investments OneAnswer New Zealand Share Fund vs Mercer NZ Shares Passive Fund
Both are Australasian Equities 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 cost: Mercer NZ Shares Passive Fund charges 0.36% per annum, while ANZ Investments OneAnswer New Zealand Share Fund charges 1.05% per annum — a gap of 0.69 percentage points that compounds meaningfully over time. This difference reflects their contrasting approaches; Mercer's fund is explicitly passive (index-tracking), whereas ANZ's fund is actively managed, carrying the higher fees typically associated with active stock selection.
Both funds sit in the Australasian Equities category with identical risk indicators of 5 (on the standard 1–7 scale) and near-identical growth asset allocations of 98.31%. Their five-year returns diverge, however: Mercer's fund returned 0.02% per annum over five years, while ANZ's returned 0.34% per annum over the same period, though past returns are not indicative of future performance and the periods may not be perfectly aligned in this snapshot. Fund size is comparable — Mercer at approximately NZD 40.5 million and ANZ at approximately NZD 49.4 million.
Portfolio composition is broadly similar, with Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Infratil, Auckland International Airport, and Contact Energy featuring in both top-five holdings, though at differing weights. A2 Milk appears in Mercer's top five but not ANZ's, while Mainfreight appears in ANZ's top five but not Mercer's, reflecting active tilts in the ANZ portfolio.
Verify all figures against each fund's current product disclosure statement and latest quarterly fund update on FMA Disclose before relying on this summary for any investment decision.
Comparison generated 2026-07-05 from each fund's FMA Disclose QFU facts as at that date. If the underlying facts change, this narrative is withheld until it is regenerated — the tables on this page always reflect the current data.
What's different at a glance
- Mercer NZ Shares Passive Fund charges 0.69% lower in annual fund charges (0.36% vs 1.05%).
- 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 58 australasian equities funds we've matched on Sorted Smart Investor. Mechanical only — no opinion, no forward-looking view.
Annual fund charge
Lower is better
ANZ Investments
1.05%
Upper half of cohort
Mercer
0.36%
Lowest 20% of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
ANZ Investments
0.34%
Bottom 21% over 5 years
Mercer
0.02%
Bottom 4% over 5 years
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
ANZ Investments
NZ$49m
Lower half by size
Mercer
NZ$41m
Lower half by size
| Metric | ANZ Investments | Mercer | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | 1.05% | 0.36% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | 5 | 5 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | 0.34% | 0.02% | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | NZ$49m | NZ$41m | Larger = more stable, lower close-risk |
| Growth / income split | 98% / 2% | 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 | Direct | 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
7
of each fund's top 10
ANZ Investments weight in shared
43.8%
of ANZ Investments OneAnswer New Zealand Share Fund top 10 is shared
Mercer weight in shared
44.3%
of Mercer NZ Shares Passive Fund top 10 is shared
| Holding | ANZ Investments | Mercer |
|---|---|---|
 Infratil Ltd NZ | 8.20% | 8.77% |
 Auckland International Airport NZ | 7.41% | 10.18% |
 Contact Energy Ltd NZ | 8.43% | 6.63% |
 Meridian Energy Ltd NZ | 4.75% | 5.39% |
 The A2 Milk Company Limited NZ | 4.25% | 6.31% |
 Mainfreight Ltd NZ | 5.50% | 3.60% |
 Ebos Group Ltd NZ | 5.27% | 3.44% |
"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
ANZ Investments
ANZ Investments OneAnswer New Zealand Share Fund
The New Zealand Share Fund invests mainly in New Zealand equities. Investments may include equities in companies that are listed or intend to list on the New Zealand stock exchange, and cash and cash equivalents.The New Zealand Share Fund aims to achieve a return (after the fund charge and before tax) that over the long-term outperforms the relevant market index.Full ANZ Investments ANZ Investments OneAnswer New Zealand Share Fund profile →
Mercer
Mercer NZ Shares Passive Fund
The fund is a passively managed New Zealand shares portfolio that is designed to track the return of the S&P/NZX 50 Index. Environmental, Social and Governance characteristics are integrated into the underlying investment managers' investment processes. The fund aims to provide a return that closely matches the return of the S&P/NZX 50 Index (on a gross basis and including imputation credits).Full Mercer Mercer NZ Shares Passive Fund profile →
Documents
Crawled directly from each manager's website. How we record provenance →
ANZ Investments
Common questions
What's the difference between the ANZ Investments OneAnswer New Zealand Share Fund and the Mercer NZ Shares Passive Fund?
Which fund has lower fees, ANZ Investments OneAnswer New Zealand Share Fund or Mercer NZ Shares Passive Fund?
How do the 5-year returns compare?
Are both funds PIE-taxed in NZ?
Where can I read the official documents for these funds?
