Fund-vs-fund · Diversified
Fisher Funds Conservative Fund vs Lifetime Retirement Income 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 growth asset allocation. Fisher Funds Conservative Fund holds 22.72% in growth assets, consistent with its conservative mandate, while Lifetime Retirement Income Fund holds 53.2% — more than double — placing it closer to a balanced profile despite both sitting within the Diversified category. This difference is reflected in their risk indicators: Fisher Funds Conservative Fund carries a risk indicator of 3, and Lifetime Retirement Income Fund carries a 4, on the standard 1–7 scale.
On portfolio construction, Fisher Funds Conservative Fund's top holdings are dominated by direct fixed-income instruments — NZ Government Bonds and a cash account with ANZ — suggesting a straightforward, internally managed fixed-income and cash structure. Lifetime Retirement Income Fund, by contrast, holds its exposures through external wholesale funds (Smart, Fisher Institutional, Simplicity), meaning investors are accessing a fund-of-funds structure with underlying strategies spanning global and NZ equities alongside fixed interest.
Annual fund charges are nearly identical: 1.35% for Fisher Funds Conservative Fund and 1.36% for Lifetime Retirement Income Fund. Fund sizes are also comparable at approximately NZD 119 million and NZD 115 million respectively. Fisher Funds Conservative Fund discloses a five-year annualised return of 2.01%; Lifetime Retirement Income Fund's five-year return figure is not available in this snapshot, so direct performance comparison is not possible here.
Always verify current fees, returns, and portfolio 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
- Annual fund charges are within 0.05% of each other (1.35% vs 1.36%).
- 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
Fisher Funds
1.35%
Highest 15% of cohort
Lifetime
1.36%
Highest 11% of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
Fisher Funds
1.67%
Bottom 18% over 5 years
Lifetime
—
—
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
Fisher Funds
NZ$116m
Upper half by size
Lifetime
NZ$115m
Upper half by size
| Metric | Fisher Funds | Lifetime | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | 1.35% | 1.36% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | 3 | 4 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | 1.67% | — | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | NZ$116m | NZ$115m | Larger = more stable, lower close-risk |
| Growth / income split | 23% / 77% | 53% / 47% | 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 · 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.
What each fund says it does
Fisher Funds
Fisher Funds Conservative Fund
The fund aims to provide stable returns over the long term by investing in mainly income assets with a modest allocation to growth assetsFull Fisher Funds Fisher Funds Conservative Fund profile →
Lifetime
Lifetime Retirement Income Fund
Managed investment fund designed to turn your retirement savings into a variable retirement income.Full Lifetime Lifetime Retirement Income Fund profile →
Documents
Crawled directly from each manager's website. How we record provenance →
Fisher Funds
LiveLast verified 2026-05-08
- Other Material Information165 kB · file fingerprint recorded
- Product Disclosure Statement246 kB · file fingerprint recorded
- Product Disclosure Statement143 kB · file fingerprint recorded
- Product Disclosure Statement666 kB · file fingerprint recorded
- Product Disclosure Statement595 kB · file fingerprint recorded
- Quarterly Fund Update62 kB · file fingerprint recorded
- + 2 more on the fund page
Lifetime
Common questions
What's the difference between the Fisher Funds Conservative Fund and the Lifetime Retirement Income Fund?
Which fund has lower fees, Fisher Funds Conservative Fund or Lifetime Retirement Income Fund?
Are both funds PIE-taxed in NZ?
Where can I read the official documents for these funds?
