Fund-vs-fund · Australasian Equities
BetaShares NZ Sustainability Leaders Fund vs Mercer Responsible Trans-Tasman Shares 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. The Mercer Responsible Trans-Tasman Shares Fund charges an annual fund fee of 1.06%, while the BetaShares NZ Sustainability Leaders Fund charges 0.59% — a gap of 47 basis points that compounds meaningfully over time on equivalent capital. Both funds sit at risk indicator 5 and hold an identical 98.31% in growth assets, so the structural risk profile is the same.
On returns, Mercer discloses a five-year annualised return of 0.01%; BetaShares does not disclose a five-year figure in this snapshot, likely reflecting a shorter fund history, so like-for-like performance comparison is not currently possible. Fund sizes are broadly similar — Mercer at approximately NZD 31.7 million, BetaShares at approximately NZD 34.3 million.
Portfolio construction differs in concentration. Mercer's top five holdings account for roughly 49% of the fund, with Fisher & Paykel Healthcare alone at 16.29%. BetaShares spreads its top five more evenly across approximately 46%, with the five largest names each sitting between 8% and 10%. Both funds share four of the same five top holdings, though Mercer includes Contact Energy while BetaShares includes Xero, suggesting a different sustainability screen or index methodology is driving the selection.
Neither fund is a KiwiSaver scheme account product based on the data provided. Readers should verify all figures — including current fees, holdings, and any updated performance data — against each fund's 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
- BetaShares NZ Sustainability Leaders Fund charges 0.47% lower in annual fund charges (0.59% vs 1.06%).
- 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
BetaShares
0.59%
Lower half of cohort
Mercer
1.06%
Upper half of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
BetaShares
—
—
Mercer
0.01%
Bottom 1% over 5 years
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
BetaShares
NZ$34m
Lower half by size
Mercer
NZ$32m
Lower half by size
| Metric | BetaShares | Mercer | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | 0.59% | 1.06% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | 5 | 5 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | — | 0.01% | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | NZ$34m | NZ$32m | 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 | Yes | Yes | Specific exclusions live in each fund's SIPO. |
| Available via | InvestNow · Direct | 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
6
of each fund's top 10
BetaShares weight in shared
43.9%
of BetaShares NZ Sustainability Leaders Fund top 10 is shared
Mercer weight in shared
48.9%
of Mercer Responsible Trans-Tasman Shares Fund top 10 is shared
| Holding | BetaShares | Mercer |
|---|---|---|
 Fisher & Paykel Healthcare NZ | 9.75% | 16.29% |
 Infratil NZ | 9.22% | 10.52% |
 Auckland International Airport NZ | 9.28% | 8.80% |
 Meridian Energy NZ | 7.64% | 5.22% |
 Mainfreight NZ | 3.86% | 5.01% |
 Spark New Zealand NZ | 4.15% | 3.05% |
"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
BetaShares
BetaShares NZ Sustainability Leaders Fund
The Fund aims to provide an investment return that tracks the performance of the Solactive New Zealand Sustainable Leaders Index, Before taking into account fees and expenses.Full BetaShares BetaShares NZ Sustainability Leaders Fund profile →
Mercer
Mercer Responsible Trans-Tasman Shares Fund
The fund is a diversified portfolio of predominantly New Zealand shares across a range of industries and sectors. The portfolio may also invest in Australian shares. The fund is managed to include specific additional responsible exclusions criteria which aims to avoid investments in certain companies or activities, and is managed with reference to environmental, social and governance factors. This fund has additional exclusions applied as described in our Sustainable Investment Policy and has been certified by the Responsible Investment Association of AustralasiaFull Mercer Mercer Responsible Trans-Tasman Shares Fund profile →
Documents
Crawled directly from each manager's website. How we record provenance →
BetaShares
Common questions
What's the difference between the BetaShares NZ Sustainability Leaders Fund and the Mercer Responsible Trans-Tasman Shares Fund?
Which fund has lower fees, BetaShares NZ Sustainability Leaders Fund or Mercer Responsible Trans-Tasman Shares Fund?
Are both funds PIE-taxed in NZ?
Where can I read the official documents for these funds?
