Harbour Epoch Global Quality Select Equity (Hedged) Fund vs Vanguard International Shares Select Exclusions Index Fund

Both funds sit within the International Equities category, but their most material structural difference is investment philosophy: the Vanguard International Shares Select Exclusions Index Fund is an index-tracking strategy that seeks to replicate a broad international shares benchmark while excluding certain sectors or companies (typically weapons, tobacco, and similar screens), whereas the Harbour Epoch Global Quality Select Equity (Hedged) Fund is an actively managed strategy sub-advised by Epoch Investment Partners, concentrating on global companies screened for quality characteristics — and, critically, it applies currency hedging back to the New Zealand dollar, which the Vanguard fund does not specify in this snapshot.

That hedging distinction is consequential: investors in the Harbour fund are largely shielded from NZD/foreign-currency movements, while holders of the Vanguard fund carry unhedged currency exposure as a return driver (or drag). These two approaches can produce meaningfully different return profiles even when underlying equity markets move similarly.

Beyond philosophy and currency treatment, this comparison is constrained by data availability. Annual fund charges, risk indicator ratings, five-year return figures, fund size, growth-asset allocations, and top holdings are not present in our current snapshot for either fund. Neither a PDS URL nor a Sorted profile link was returned for either fund in this data pull.

Readers should not draw fee, return, or risk conclusions from this summary alone. Verify all current figures — including annual fund charges, the risk indicator, and any currency hedging mechanics — against each fund's product disclosure statement and latest quarterly fund update on FMA Disclose before relying on any of this.