Fund-vs-fund · Australasian Equities
Harbour Sustainable NZ Shares Fund vs Smart Australian Top 200 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 geographic exposure. The Harbour Sustainable NZ Shares Fund invests exclusively in New Zealand equities, with top holdings including A2 Milk Company (5.98%), Mainfreight (5.95%), and Auckland International Airport (5.91%). The Smartshares Smart Australian Top 200 ETF tracks Australian equities, concentrating heavily in Australian financials and resources — Commonwealth Bank of Australia (9.71%), BHP Group (8.35%), and three further major Australian banks feature in its top five. Both sit within the Australasian Equities category, but an investor in one is taking on a materially different country and sector profile than an investor in the other.
The Harbour fund also carries a sustainability mandate, which its name signals and which is reflected in its stock selection. Smartshares' fund is an index-tracking ETF, passively replicating the ASX 200 without an explicit ESG screen.
On fees, Harbour discloses a 0.27% annual fund charge against Smartshares' 0.30% — a narrow gap. Both carry a risk indicator of 5 out of 7, and both hold 98.31% in growth assets. Harbour's fund is larger at approximately NZD 400 million versus NZD 287 million for Smartshares. Harbour's five-year return figure is not available in this snapshot; Smartshares discloses a five-year return of 9.93% per annum, but no equivalent comparison point exists for Harbour on this data.
Always verify fees, returns, and fund details against each fund's current product disclosure statement and latest quarterly fund update on FMA Disclose before relying on any of this information.
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
- Annual fund charges are within 0.05% of each other (0.27% vs 0.30%).
- Both are New Zealand PIE funds — investor tax is capped at the Prescribed Investor Rate (PIR), maximum 28%.
- Harbour Sustainable NZ 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
0.27%
Lowest 15% of cohort
Smartshares
0.30%
Lowest 16% of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
Harbour
0.15%
Bottom 10% over 5 years
Smartshares
9.09%
Top 11% over 5 years
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
Harbour
NZ$380m
Largest 8% in cohort
Smartshares
NZ$332m
Largest 9% in cohort
| Metric | Harbour | Smartshares | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | 0.27% | 0.30% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | 5 | 5 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | 0.15% | 9.09% | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | NZ$380m | NZ$332m | 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 | Yes | 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.
What each fund says it does
Harbour
Harbour Sustainable NZ Shares Fund
This Fund is designed to track the S&P/NZX 50 Portfolio Index, with exclusions to companies including but not limited to, large carbon emitters, gambling, firearms, and companies with human and animal rights violations. For full details of the exclusions for this Fund please see the Environmental, Social and Governance Policy (ESG Policy) on our website at Responsible Investing - Harbour Asset Management. There are positive and negative tilts applied to the remaining companies based on Harbour's proprietary Corporate Behaviour Score.Full Harbour Harbour Sustainable NZ Shares Fund profile →
Smartshares
Smart Australian Top 200 ETF
The Smart Australian Top 200 ETF is designed to track the return (before tax, fees and other expenses) of the S&P/ASX 200 Total Return Index. The Index is comprised of 200 of the largest companies listed on the ASX.Full Smartshares Smart Australian Top 200 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 Sustainable NZ Shares Fund and the Smart Australian Top 200 ETF?
Which fund has lower fees, Harbour Sustainable NZ Shares Fund or Smart Australian Top 200 ETF?
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?
