Fund-vs-fund · International Equities
Foundation Series US Dividend Equity Fund vs Stewart Investors Worldwide Leaders Fund
Both are International 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 their investment approach and resulting cost. The Foundation Series US Dividend Equity Fund is a single-holding wrapper, with 99.75% of assets invested in the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF — effectively a pass-through to one US-listed index ETF concentrated entirely on US dividend-paying equities. The Stewart Investors Worldwide Leaders Fund, by contrast, is an actively managed portfolio with positions spread across individual global equities including Samsung Electronics (7.17%), Singapore Telecommunications (6.77%), Watsco (4.76%), bioMérieux (4.54%), and a 4.67% cash allocation at BNZ, indicating genuine stock selection across multiple geographies and sectors.
This structural difference is directly reflected in fees. Foundation Series discloses an annual fund charge of 0.06%, while Stewart Investors charges 0.61% — a ten-fold difference. Both funds carry a risk indicator of 5 and an identical growth assets allocation of 98.31%. Fund sizes are comparable: Foundation Series at NZD 10.8 million, Stewart Investors at NZD 12.3 million. Neither fund discloses a five-year return figure in this snapshot, so no meaningful performance comparison can be drawn from the data available here.
Both funds sit outside KiwiSaver, so contributions do not count toward your KiwiSaver scheme account. Five-year return data is absent for both funds, which limits historical context.
Verify all figures against each fund's current 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
- Foundation Series US Dividend Equity Fund charges 0.55% lower in annual fund charges (0.06% vs 0.61%).
- Both are New Zealand PIE funds — investor tax is capped at the Prescribed Investor Rate (PIR), maximum 28%.
- Stewart Investors Worldwide Leaders Fund applies responsible-investment / ESG screening. The other fund does not.
Where each fund sits in its cohort
Percentile rank vs all 81 international equities funds we've matched on Sorted Smart Investor. Mechanical only — no opinion, no forward-looking view.
Annual fund charge
Lower is better
Foundation Series
0.06%
Lowest 3% of cohort
Stewart Investors
0.61%
Lower half of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
Foundation Series
—
—
Stewart Investors
—
—
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
Foundation Series
NZ$11m
Smallest 7% in cohort
Stewart Investors
NZ$12m
Smallest 9% in cohort
| Metric | Foundation Series | Stewart Investors | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | 0.06% | 0.61% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | 5 | 5 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | — | — | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | NZ$11m | NZ$12m | 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 | Yes | 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
1
of each fund's top 10
Foundation Series weight in shared
0.3%
of Foundation Series US Dividend Equity Fund top 10 is shared
Stewart Investors weight in shared
4.7%
of Stewart Investors Worldwide Leaders Fund top 10 is shared
| Holding | Foundation Series | Stewart Investors |
|---|---|---|
| $ Cash at Bank (BNZ) NZ | 0.25% | 4.67% |
"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
Foundation Series
Foundation Series US Dividend Equity Fund
The Fund aims for high long-run returns by investing in an ETF that invests in high dividend yielding shares issued by companies in the United States that have a record of consistently paying dividends.Full Foundation Series Foundation Series US Dividend Equity Fund profile →
Stewart Investors
Stewart Investors Worldwide Leaders Fund
Aims to achieve its investment objective by investing in a diversified portfolio of equity or equity-related securities of larger capitalisation companies which are listed in, traded, or dealt on any of the regulated markets worldwide. The Fund does not hedge currency risk.Full Stewart Investors Stewart Investors Worldwide Leaders Fund profile →
Documents
Crawled directly from each manager's website. How we record provenance →
Foundation Series
LiveLast verified 2026-05-08
Stewart Investors
Common questions
What's the difference between the Foundation Series US Dividend Equity Fund and the Stewart Investors Worldwide Leaders Fund?
Which fund has lower fees, Foundation Series US Dividend Equity Fund or Stewart Investors Worldwide Leaders Fund?
Are both funds PIE-taxed in NZ?
Does either fund apply responsible-investment screening?
Where can I read the official documents for these funds?
