Fund-vs-fund · Australasian Equities
Harbour Australasian Equity Income Fund vs Mercer Responsible Trans-Tasman Shares 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
- Annual fund charges are within 0.05% of each other (1.10% vs 1.06%).
- Both are New Zealand PIE funds — investor tax is capped at the Prescribed Investor Rate (PIR), maximum 28%.
- Mercer Responsible Trans-Tasman Shares Fund applies responsible-investment / ESG screening. The other fund does not.
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
Harbour
1.10%
Upper half of cohort
Mercer
1.06%
Upper half of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
Harbour
2.81%
Upper half over 5 years
Mercer
0.01%
Bottom 1% over 5 years
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
Harbour
NZ$35m
Lower half by size
Mercer
NZ$32m
Lower half by size
| Metric | Harbour | Mercer | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | 1.10% | 1.06% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | 4 | 5 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | 2.81% | 0.01% | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | NZ$35m | NZ$32m | 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
5
of each fund's top 10
Harbour weight in shared
34.6%
of Harbour Australasian Equity Income Fund top 10 is shared
Mercer weight in shared
29.8%
of Mercer Responsible Trans-Tasman Shares Fund top 10 is shared
| Holding | Harbour | Mercer |
|---|---|---|
 Infratil NZ | 9.64% | 10.52% |
 Contact Energy NZ | 9.84% | 7.11% |
 Mainfreight NZ | 6.58% | 5.01% |
 EBOS Group NZ | 4.48% | 4.15% |
 Spark New Zealand NZ | 4.01% | 3.05% |
"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
Harbour
Harbour Australasian Equity Income Fund
The Fund is an actively managed strategy that invests predominantly in New Zealand and Australian listed equities that generate attractive dividend yields as well as cash and fixed interest securities.Full Harbour Harbour Australasian Equity Income Fund profile →
Mercer
Mercer Responsible Trans-Tasman Shares Fund
The fund is a diversified portfolio of predominantly New Zealand shares across a range of industries and sectors. The portfolio may also invest in Australian shares. The fund is managed to include specific additional responsible exclusions criteria which aims to avoid investments in certain companies or activities, and is managed with reference to environmental, social and governance factors. This fund has additional exclusions applied as described in our Sustainable Investment Policy and has been certified by the Responsible Investment Association of AustralasiaFull Mercer Mercer Responsible Trans-Tasman Shares Fund profile →
Documents
Crawled directly from each manager's website. How we record provenance →
Harbour
LiveLast verified 2026-05-08
- Supporting document7507 kB · file fingerprint recorded
- Supporting document2611 kB · file fingerprint recorded
- Supporting document3223 kB · file fingerprint recorded
- Supporting document2469 kB · file fingerprint recorded
- Supporting document8447 kB · file fingerprint recorded
- Supporting document4303 kB · file fingerprint recorded
- + 9 more on the fund page
Common questions
What's the difference between the Harbour Australasian Equity Income Fund and the Mercer Responsible Trans-Tasman Shares Fund?
Which fund has lower fees, Harbour Australasian Equity Income Fund or Mercer Responsible Trans-Tasman Shares Fund?
How do the 5-year returns compare?
Are both funds PIE-taxed in NZ?
Does either fund apply responsible-investment screening?
Where can I read the official documents for these funds?
