Fund-vs-fund · Australasian Equities
Harbour Sustainable NZ Shares Fund vs Smart Australian Mid Cap 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 and investment mandate. The Harbour Sustainable NZ Shares Fund invests in New Zealand equities screened through a sustainability lens, with its top five holdings — A2 Milk, Mainfreight, Auckland International Airport, Contact Energy, and Meridian Energy — all NZX-listed companies. The Smartshares Smart Australian Mid Cap ETF tracks Australian mid-capitalisation equities passively, with its top holdings including Pilbara Minerals, Light & Wonder, and Charter Hall Group, all ASX-listed. Despite sharing the same Australasian Equities category and an identical 98.31% growth assets allocation, these funds offer materially different country and sector exposures.
On fees, Harbour charges 0.27% annually versus Smartshares at 0.75% — a meaningful difference for long-term compounding. Fund size is comparable: Harbour at approximately NZD 400 million, Smartshares at approximately NZD 306 million. Both carry a risk indicator of 5 out of 7. Smartshares discloses a five-year return of 10.44% per annum; Harbour's five-year return figure is not available in this snapshot and investors should check FMA Disclose directly for current performance data.
The Harbour fund's sustainability mandate introduces an active ESG screening layer absent from the Smartshares passive index approach. Neither fund is a KiwiSaver scheme account product based on the data provided here.
Always verify fees, returns, and portfolio composition 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
- Harbour Sustainable NZ Shares Fund charges 0.48% lower in annual fund charges (0.27% vs 0.75%).
- 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
0.75%
Lower half of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
Harbour
0.15%
Bottom 10% over 5 years
Smartshares
8.63%
Top 13% over 5 years
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
Harbour
NZ$380m
Largest 8% in cohort
Smartshares
NZ$291m
Largest 11% in cohort
| Metric | Harbour | Smartshares | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | 0.27% | 0.75% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | 5 | 6 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | 0.15% | 8.63% | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | NZ$380m | NZ$291m | 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 Mid Cap ETF
The Smart Australian Mid Cap ETF is designed to track the return (before tax, fees and other expenses) of the S&P/ASX MidCap 50 Index. The Index is comprised of companies listed on the ASX and included in the S&P/ASX 100 Index, but excludes companies included in the S&P/ASX 50 Index.Full Smartshares Smart Australian Mid Cap 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 Mid Cap ETF?
Which fund has lower fees, Harbour Sustainable NZ Shares Fund or Smart Australian Mid Cap 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?
