Fund-vs-fund · Australasian Equities
Harbour Australasian Equity Fund vs Smart NZ Top 10 ETF
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.
Why these two differ
The most material structural difference between these two funds is their investment approach and associated cost. Smart NZ Top 10 ETF is a passive, rules-based exchange-traded fund that holds only the ten largest eligible NZ companies, producing a highly concentrated portfolio; Harbour Australasian Equity Fund is an actively managed fund selecting stocks across Australia and New Zealand with a broader mandate. That difference in approach is reflected directly in fees: Smartshares charges 0.60% per annum versus Harbour's 1.12% — a gap of 52 basis points that compounds over time.
Both funds sit at risk indicator 5 on the standard 1–7 scale and carry near-identical growth asset allocations of 98.31%. Fund sizes are comparable — approximately NZD 108.7 million (Smartshares) and NZD 117.4 million (Harbour). Over the five-year period disclosed in their respective Quarterly Fund Updates, Smart NZ Top 10 ETF returned 1.17% per annum against Harbour's 0.06% per annum, though past returns are not indicative of future performance and the two measurement periods should be confirmed against each fund's QFU before being compared directly.
Portfolio concentration differs meaningfully: Fisher & Paykel Healthcare accounts for 24.44% of the Smartshares fund versus 15.70% in Harbour's fund, and the Smartshares fund has no Australian equity exposure by design, whereas Harbour's mandate explicitly includes Australian equities such as Mainfreight. Both funds share four of their five disclosed top holdings, reflecting the dominance of these names across the NZ equity universe.
Always verify fees, returns, and holdings against the current PDS and latest Quarterly Fund Update on FMA Disclose before relying on any figures here.
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 Top 10 ETF charges 0.52% lower in annual fund charges (0.60% vs 1.12%).
- 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 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
1.12%
Upper half of cohort
Smartshares
0.60%
Lower half of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
Harbour
0.83%
Lower half over 5 years
Smartshares
0.29%
Bottom 15% over 5 years
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
Harbour
NZ$101m
Upper half by size
Smartshares
NZ$103m
Upper half by size
| Metric | Harbour | Smartshares | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | 1.12% | 0.60% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | 5 | 5 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | 0.83% | 0.29% | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | NZ$101m | NZ$103m | 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
6
of each fund's top 10
Harbour weight in shared
52.1%
of Harbour Australasian Equity Fund top 10 is shared
Smartshares weight in shared
74.2%
of Smart NZ Top 10 ETF top 10 is shared
| Holding | Harbour | Smartshares |
|---|---|---|
 Fisher & Paykel Healthcare NZ | 16.23% | 24.97% |
 Infratil NZ | 10.47% | 13.24% |
 Contact Energy NZ | 7.44% | 10.01% |
 Auckland International Airport NZ | 6.43% | 15.36% |
 Mainfreight NZ | 7.96% | 5.43% |
 EBOS Group NZ | 3.54% | 5.19% |
"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 Fund
The Fund is an actively managed strategy that invests predominantly in New Zealand and Australian listed equities. The Fund has a growth-oriented investment approach to generate alpha (return over the benchmark) for investors. The Fund incorporates an ESG strategy involving integration of Harbour s proprietary Corporate Behaviour Survey and external provider scores into investment decision making, company engagement, voting and zero tolerance exclusions. Further information on exclusions and processes is outlined in our ESG Policy.Full Harbour Harbour Australasian Equity Fund profile →
Smartshares
Smart NZ Top 10 ETF
The Smart NZ Top 10 ETF is designed to track the return (before tax, fees and other expenses) of the S&P/NZX 10 Index. The Index is comprised of ten of the largest companies listed on the NZX.Full Smartshares Smart NZ Top 10 ETF 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
Smartshares
Common questions
What's the difference between the Harbour Australasian Equity Fund and the Smart NZ Top 10 ETF?
Which fund has lower fees, Harbour Australasian Equity Fund or Smart NZ Top 10 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?
