Fund-vs-fund · Australasian Equities
Fisher Funds New Zealand Growth Fund vs Kernel NZ 20 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.
What's different at a glance
- Kernel NZ 20 Fund charges 1.17% lower in annual fund charges (0.25% vs 1.42%).
- Both are New Zealand PIE funds — investor tax is capped at the Prescribed Investor Rate (PIR), maximum 28%.
- Fisher Funds New Zealand Growth Fund is roughly 72.0× the size of the other fund.
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
Fisher Funds
1.42%
Highest 6% of cohort
Kernel
0.25%
Lowest 10% of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
Fisher Funds
1.47%
Lower half over 5 years
Kernel
—
—
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
Fisher Funds
NZ$161m
Upper half by size
Kernel
NZ$2m
Smallest 4% in cohort
| Metric | Fisher Funds | Kernel | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | 1.42% | 0.25% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | 5 | 5 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | 1.47% | — | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | NZ$161m | NZ$2m | 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
8
of each fund's top 10
Fisher Funds weight in shared
67.0%
of Fisher Funds New Zealand Growth Fund top 10 is shared
Kernel weight in shared
70.5%
of Kernel NZ 20 Fund top 10 is shared
| Holding | Fisher Funds | Kernel |
|---|---|---|
 Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd NZ | 18.39% | 14.87% |
 Infratil Limited NZ | 14.65% | 11.02% |
 Auckland International Airport Limited NZ | 7.50% | 12.79% |
 The A2 Milk Company Limited NZ | 5.12% | 7.93% |
 Mainfreight Limited NZ | 7.84% | 4.52% |
 EBOS Group Limited NZ | 5.72% | 4.32% |
 Meridian Energy Limited NZ | 3.92% | 6.77% |
 Contact Energy Limited NZ | 3.91% | 8.33% |
"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
Fisher Funds
Fisher Funds New Zealand Growth Fund
The fund focuses on growth of your investment over the long term by investing in quality New Zealand companies which can consistently produce increasing earningsFull Fisher Funds Fisher Funds New Zealand Growth Fund profile →
Kernel
Kernel NZ 20 Fund
The fund is passively managed and invests in financial products listed on the NZX and is designed to track the S&P/NZX 20 Index.Full Kernel Kernel NZ 20 Fund profile →
Documents
Crawled directly from each manager's website. How we record provenance →
Fisher Funds
LiveLast verified 2026-05-08
Kernel
Common questions
What's the difference between the Fisher Funds New Zealand Growth Fund and the Kernel NZ 20 Fund?
Which fund has lower fees, Fisher Funds New Zealand Growth Fund or Kernel NZ 20 Fund?
Are both funds PIE-taxed in NZ?
Where can I read the official documents for these funds?
