Fund-vs-fund · NZ Fixed Interest
Fisher Funds New Zealand Fixed Income Trust vs Smart NZ Bond ETF
Both are NZ Fixed Interest 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 investment approach and resulting portfolio composition. Fisher Funds New Zealand Fixed Income Trust is an actively managed fund concentrated in NZ Government bonds, with three sovereign bonds comprising roughly 20% of the portfolio and cash (ANZ current accounts) representing a further 4%. The Smart NZ Bond ETF, managed by Smartshares, is a passively managed exchange-traded fund indexed to a broader NZ bond universe, with its largest holding being a NZ Local Government Funding Agency bond at 13%, followed by bank-issued corporate bonds — a meaningfully different credit mix that includes no direct NZ Government bond exposure in its top five holdings.
This structural distinction is reflected in the fees: Fisher Funds charges an annual fund charge of 0.97%, compared to Smartshares' 0.54% — a 43-basis-point gap that compounds over time. Both funds share an identical risk indicator of 3 (out of 7) and an identical growth assets allocation of 0.13%. On reported five-year returns, the Smart NZ Bond ETF shows 1.29% per annum against Fisher Funds' 0.38%, though past returns are not a reliable indicator of future performance. Fisher Funds' fund is larger at approximately NZD $80.6 million versus Smartshares' NZD $60.9 million. Neither fund is a KiwiSaver scheme account product based on the data provided.
Always verify current fees, returns, and portfolio details 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
- Smart NZ Bond ETF charges 0.43% lower in annual fund charges (0.54% vs 0.97%).
- 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 14 nz fixed interest funds we've matched on Sorted Smart Investor. Mechanical only — no opinion, no forward-looking view.
Annual fund charge
Lower is better
Fisher Funds
0.97%
Highest 11% of cohort
Smartshares
0.54%
Lower half of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
Fisher Funds
0.68%
Bottom 19% over 5 years
Smartshares
1.43%
Upper half over 5 years
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
Fisher Funds
NZ$77m
Lower half by size
Smartshares
NZ$58m
Lower half by size
| Metric | Fisher Funds | Smartshares | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | 0.97% | 0.54% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | 3 | 3 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | 0.68% | 1.43% | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | NZ$77m | NZ$58m | Larger = more stable, lower close-risk |
| Growth / income split | 0% / 100% | 0% / 100% | 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.
What each fund says it does
Fisher Funds
Fisher Funds New Zealand Fixed Income Trust
The fund aims to provide stable returns over the long term by investing in New Zealand fixed interest assetsFull Fisher Funds Fisher Funds New Zealand Fixed Income Trust profile →
Smartshares
Smart NZ Bond ETF
The Smart NZ Bond ETF is designed to provide a return (before tax, fees and other expenses) that outperforms the S&P/NZX A-Grade Corporate Bond Total Return Index over rolling three-year periods.Full Smartshares Smart NZ Bond ETF 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
Smartshares
Common questions
What's the difference between the Fisher Funds New Zealand Fixed Income Trust and the Smart NZ Bond ETF?
Which fund has lower fees, Fisher Funds New Zealand Fixed Income Trust or Smart NZ Bond ETF?
How do the 5-year returns compare?
Are both funds PIE-taxed in NZ?
Where can I read the official documents for these funds?
