BetaShares NZ Sustainability Leaders Fund vs Harbour Australasian Equity Income Fund

The most material structural difference between these two funds is their risk profile and fee structure. The BetaShares NZ Sustainability Leaders Fund carries a risk indicator of 5, one step higher on the FMA's seven-point scale than the Harbour Australasian Equity Income Fund's rating of 4, signalling greater expected return volatility despite both funds allocating virtually identical proportions to growth assets (98.31% each). On fees, BetaShares charges 0.59% per annum against Harbour's 1.10%, a gap of 51 basis points that compounds meaningfully over time, though the difference in strategy and active versus passive (or rules-based) management may partly explain this disparity.

Performance comparison is limited by missing data: Harbour discloses a five-year return of 4.34% per annum, while BetaShares' five-year return figure is not available in the current snapshot, making like-for-like return analysis impossible at this time. Both funds are similarly sized, with Harbour at approximately NZD 40 million and BetaShares at approximately NZD 34 million.

Portfolio construction diverges notably. Harbour concentrates in income-oriented names — Infratil, Contact Energy, and Mainfreight feature prominently — consistent with its stated income focus. BetaShares applies a sustainability screen, with Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Xero, and Auckland International Airport as its largest positions, reflecting an ESG-filtered index methodology rather than active stock selection.

Always verify fees, returns, risk indicators, and holdings against each fund's current product disclosure statement and latest quarterly fund update on FMA Disclose before relying on any of this information.