Fund-vs-fund · Listed Property
Harbour Real Estate Investment Fund vs Kernel NZ Commercial Property Fund
Both are Listed Property 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 cost. Harbour Real Estate Investment Fund charges an annual fund fee of 0.77%, while Kernel NZ Commercial Property Fund charges 0.25% — a gap of 0.52 percentage points that compounds meaningfully over time on comparable asset bases.
Both funds sit in the Listed Property category, carry an identical risk indicator of 5 out of 7, and hold virtually the same growth asset allocation (98.31% each). Their fund sizes are close — Harbour at approximately NZD 149 million, Kernel at approximately NZD 140 million. Despite this structural similarity, their disclosed five-year returns diverge: Harbour records 0.04% per annum versus Kernel's 2.75% per annum. The data does not explain what drives that gap; investors should examine the relevant periods covered by each fund's Quarterly Fund Update, as differing inception dates or calculation windows may affect comparability.
Portfolio construction overlaps substantially. Both funds hold Goodman Property Trust, Kiwi Property Group, Precinct Properties, and Vital Healthcare Property among their largest positions, though weights differ. Harbour's largest holding is Precinct (16.35%), while Kernel weights Goodman highest (17.87%). Notably, Kernel includes Property for Industry (13.13%) in its top five, which does not appear in Harbour's disclosed top holdings — suggesting a modest divergence in index or selection methodology.
Both funds are not KiwiSaver scheme accounts based on the data provided.
Always verify fees, returns, and holdings against each fund's current Product Disclosure Statement 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
- Kernel NZ Commercial Property Fund charges 0.52% lower in annual fund charges (0.25% vs 0.77%).
- 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 15 listed property funds we've matched on Sorted Smart Investor. Mechanical only — no opinion, no forward-looking view.
Annual fund charge
Lower is better
Harbour
0.77%
Lowest 23% of cohort
Kernel
0.25%
Lowest 3% of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
Harbour
1.51%
Bottom 21% over 5 years
Kernel
2.75%
Upper half over 5 years
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
Harbour
NZ$130m
Largest 23% in cohort
Kernel
NZ$140m
Largest 17% in cohort
| Metric | Harbour | Kernel | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | 0.77% | 0.25% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | 5 | 5 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | 1.51% | 2.75% | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | NZ$130m | NZ$140m | 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 | InvestNow · 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
61.6%
of Harbour Real Estate Investment Fund top 10 is shared
Kernel weight in shared
79.2%
of Kernel NZ Commercial Property Fund top 10 is shared
| Holding | Harbour | Kernel |
|---|---|---|
| GP Goodman Property Trust NZ | 15.48% | 17.87% |
 Kiwi Property Group NZ | 13.75% | 17.39% |
 Argosy Property NZ | 9.96% | 11.51% |
 Vital Healthcare Property Trust NZ | 9.76% | 12.24% |
| PF Property for Industry NZ | 6.96% | 13.13% |
 Stride Property NZ | 5.65% | 7.08% |
"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 Real Estate Investment Fund
The Fund aims to capture the income yield and medium-term capital growth characteristics of real estate assets by investing principally in listed real estate assets and enhance diversification and return potential against the S&P/NZX All Real Estate Index.Full Harbour Harbour Real Estate Investment Fund profile →
Kernel
Kernel NZ Commercial Property Fund
The fund is passively managed and invests in financial products listed on the NZX.Full Kernel Kernel NZ Commercial Property 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
Kernel
Common questions
What's the difference between the Harbour Real Estate Investment Fund and the Kernel NZ Commercial Property Fund?
Which fund has lower fees, Harbour Real Estate Investment Fund or Kernel NZ Commercial Property Fund?
How do the 5-year returns compare?
Are both funds PIE-taxed in NZ?
Where can I read the official documents for these funds?
