Foundation Series US 500 Fund vs Kernel S&P Global 100 (NZD Hedged) Fund

The most material structural difference between these two funds is their index exposure and, directly linked to that, their fee level. The Foundation Series US 500 Fund tracks the S&P 500 by holding a single Vanguard ETF at 99.69% of the portfolio, concentrating entirely on US-listed companies. The Kernel S&P Global 100 (NZD Hedged) Fund tracks the S&P Global 100, spreading exposure across approximately 100 of the world's largest multinational companies regardless of domicile, and applies NZD currency hedging — a structural feature the Foundation Series fund does not disclose. That hedging decision means the Kernel fund's NZD returns are largely insulated from currency movements, while Foundation Series investors bear full USD/NZD exchange rate risk.

Annual fund charges differ significantly: Foundation Series discloses 0.03%, among the lowest available in New Zealand retail funds; Kernel charges 0.25%, roughly eight times higher, though still modest by category standards. Both funds sit at risk indicator 5 on the FMA's standardised scale and hold an almost identical growth asset allocation of 98.31%. Fund sizes are close — approximately NZD 241 million versus NZD 230 million respectively. Neither fund discloses a five-year return figure in the current snapshot, so historical performance cannot be compared here. Top-holding concentration differs visibly: Foundation Series' structure is entirely index-wrapper driven, whereas Kernel's largest single holding, Nvidia, represents 12.49% of the portfolio.

Always verify fee, return, and holdings data against each fund's current PDS and latest Quarterly Fund Update on FMA Disclose before relying on any figures here.