Fund-vs-fund · International Equities
Aurellan Hedged Global Shares Fund vs Mercer Global Shares Fund
Both are International 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 currency treatment: the Aurellan Hedged Global Shares Fund uses currency hedging, as its name signals, while the Mercer Global Shares Fund does not indicate hedging in its disclosed name or available data. For investors in international equities, hedging materially alters how exchange-rate movements between the New Zealand dollar and foreign currencies affect returns — a distinction that goes well beyond fees or portfolio composition.
On fees, Aurellan charges an annual fund charge of 1.12% versus Mercer's 1.25%, a 13-basis-point difference on otherwise similarly sized funds (Aurellan NZD 27.3 million, Mercer NZD 30.1 million). Both carry a risk indicator of 5 and an identical growth-asset allocation of 98.31%, placing them at the same point on the risk spectrum with near-identical equity exposure.
Performance history diverges sharply in what is disclosed: Mercer reports a five-year annualised return of 10.36%, while Aurellan's five-year return figure is not available in this snapshot — the fund may be too new to have accumulated a five-year track record, but the QFU data is silent on this. Portfolio concentration is broadly similar, with both funds holding Nvidia, Alphabet, and Apple among their largest positions, though Mercer's largest single holding is Nvidia at 4.68% compared with Aurellan's 3.84% top position in cash at BNZ.
Always verify these figures against each fund's current Product Disclosure Statement and latest Quarterly Fund Update on FMA Disclose before relying on them for any investment decision.
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
- Aurellan Hedged Global Shares Fund charges 0.13% lower in annual fund charges (1.12% vs 1.25%).
- 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 81 international equities funds we've matched on Sorted Smart Investor. Mechanical only — no opinion, no forward-looking view.
Annual fund charge
Lower is better
Aurellan
1.12%
Upper half of cohort
Mercer
1.25%
Highest 17% of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
Aurellan
—
—
Mercer
10.36%
Upper half over 5 years
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
Aurellan
NZ$27m
Lower half by size
Mercer
NZ$30m
Lower half by size
| Metric | Aurellan | Mercer | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | 1.12% | 1.25% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | 5 | 5 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | — | 10.36% | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | NZ$27m | NZ$30m | 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 to NZD | — | 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
6
of each fund's top 10
Aurellan weight in shared
12.9%
of Aurellan Hedged Global Shares Fund top 10 is shared
Mercer weight in shared
16.4%
of Mercer Global Shares Fund top 10 is shared
| Holding | Aurellan | Mercer |
|---|---|---|
 Nvidia Corp US | 2.35% | 4.68% |
 Apple Inc US | 2.01% | 4.30% |
 Amazon Com Inc US | 1.99% | 2.12% |
 Microsoft Corp US | 1.77% | 2.91% |
 Meta Platforms Inc US | 3.07% | 1.41% |
 Tesla Inc US | 1.69% | 0.98% |
"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
Aurellan
Aurellan Hedged Global Shares Fund
The Fund aims to provide exposure to a diversified portfolio of global shares managed using a manager-of-managers approach. The Fund mitigates currency risk by hedging most major foreign currency exposures to New Zealand dollars.Full Aurellan Aurellan Hedged Global Shares Fund profile →
Mercer
Mercer Global Shares Fund
The fund invests in international shares listed on share markets around the world by using investment managers from around the world which are combined in a multi-manager fund. Environmental, Social and Governance characteristics are integrated into the underlying investment managers’ investment processes where applicable. The fund aims to provide a Gross Return above the return of the MSCI All Country World Index with net dividends reinvested (50% hedged to NZD on an after-tax basis) on a rolling three-year basis.Full Mercer Mercer Global Shares Fund profile →
Documents
Crawled directly from each manager's website. How we record provenance →
Aurellan
Common questions
What's the difference between the Aurellan Hedged Global Shares Fund and the Mercer Global Shares Fund?
Which fund has lower fees, Aurellan Hedged Global Shares Fund or Mercer Global Shares Fund?
Are both funds PIE-taxed in NZ?
Where can I read the official documents for these funds?
