Fund-vs-fund · Cash
Harbour Enhanced Cash Fund vs Kernel Cash Plus Fund
Both are Cash 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 here is data availability: Harbour's latest Quarterly Fund Update data is absent from this snapshot across every quantitative field — fee, risk indicator, fund size, five-year return, and asset allocation — making a balanced numerical comparison impossible. Readers should treat what follows as a partial picture only.
On the Kernel Cash Plus Fund side, the available data shows an annual fund charge of 0.25%, a risk indicator of 1 (the lowest point on the FMA's 1–7 scale), and a fund size of approximately NZD 13.3 million. The portfolio carries 0.31% in growth assets, with the remainder in income assets. The five disclosed holdings illustrate a mix of bank deposits, floating-rate notes, commercial paper, and a tax-trading instrument: Bank of China Deposit at 14.95%, Kiwibank FRN at 9.57%, Auckland Council FRN at 5.14%, SBS Commercial Paper at 2.86%, and Tax Traders at 2.62%. No five-year return figure is disclosed in the snapshot, which likely reflects the fund's relatively short operating history. The linked PDS is filed under the Kernel KiwiSaver scheme, so investors accessing this fund through that vehicle should note it relates to their KiwiSaver scheme account specifically. Harbour's equivalent figures — fee, risk indicator, fund size, holdings, and returns — are not available in this snapshot and cannot be inferred.
Verify all details against each fund's current PDS and latest Quarterly Fund Update on FMA Disclose before relying on any of this information.
Comparison generated 2026-07-05 from each fund's FMA Disclose QFU facts as at that date. If the underlying facts change, this narrative is withheld until it is regenerated — the tables on this page always reflect the current data.
What's different at a glance
- 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 5 cash funds we've matched on Sorted Smart Investor. Mechanical only — no opinion, no forward-looking view.
Annual fund charge
Lower is better
Harbour
—
—
Kernel
0.25%
Lower half of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
Harbour
—
—
Kernel
—
—
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
Harbour
—
—
Kernel
NZ$13m
Upper half by size
| Metric | Harbour | Kernel | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | — | 0.25% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | — | 1 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | — | — | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | — | NZ$13m | Larger = more stable, lower close-risk |
| Growth / income split | — | 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. |
What each fund says it does
Harbour
Harbour Enhanced Cash Fund
Strategy summary not yet ingested.
Full Harbour Harbour Enhanced Cash Fund profile →Kernel
Kernel Cash Plus Fund
The fund is is designed to invest in short-term New Zealand interest-bearing assets and other cash and cash equivalent investments.Full Kernel Kernel Cash Plus Fund profile →
Documents
Crawled directly from each manager's website. How we record provenance →
Harbour
LiveLast verified 2026-05-08
Kernel
Common questions
What's the difference between the Harbour Enhanced Cash Fund and the Kernel Cash Plus Fund?
Are both funds PIE-taxed in NZ?
Where can I read the official documents for these funds?
