Fund-vs-fund · International Equities
Mercer Core Hedged Global Shares Fund vs Smart Japan ESG ETF
Both are International 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 their investment approach: the Mercer Core Hedged Global Shares Fund holds a diversified portfolio of individual global equities with currency hedging embedded in its mandate, while the Smart Japan ESG ETF gains its exposure almost entirely through a single underlying instrument — the iShares MSCI Japan ESG Screened UCITS ETF (99.95% of the portfolio) — concentrating both geographic and ESG-screen risk in one holding.
Fee levels differ significantly. Mercer's annual fund charge is disclosed at 1.46%, compared with Smartshares' 0.55% — a gap of 91 basis points that compounds materially over time. Both funds carry a risk indicator of 5 out of 7 and hold near-identical growth asset allocations of 98.31%.
On five-year returns, Mercer's fund returned 9.28% per annum against Smartshares' 8.31%, though Mercer's figure reflects broad global equity exposure and currency hedging, while Smartshares' reflects Japan-only, ESG-screened, unhedged exposure — making direct performance comparison of limited analytical value. Fund sizes are closely matched at approximately NZD 17.6 million each.
Mercer's top individual holdings are US mega-cap technology names (Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon), reinforcing its global-diversification character. Smartshares' portfolio offers no equivalent single-stock transparency, as the underlying ETF structure obscures look-through holdings.
Neither fund is described in this data as a KiwiSaver scheme account option, though investors should confirm eligibility in each product's documentation. Verify all figures against the source 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
- Smart Japan ESG ETF charges 0.91% lower in annual fund charges (0.55% vs 1.46%).
- Both are New Zealand PIE funds — investor tax is capped at the Prescribed Investor Rate (PIR), maximum 28%.
- Smart Japan ESG ETF applies responsible-investment / ESG screening. The other fund does not.
Where each fund sits in its cohort
Percentile rank vs all 81 international equities funds we've matched on Sorted Smart Investor. Mechanical only — no opinion, no forward-looking view.
Annual fund charge
Lower is better
Mercer
1.46%
Highest 10% of cohort
Smartshares
0.55%
Lower half of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
Mercer
9.28%
Upper half over 5 years
Smartshares
8.31%
Upper half over 5 years
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
Mercer
NZ$18m
Smallest 14% in cohort
Smartshares
NZ$18m
Smallest 13% in cohort
| Metric | Mercer | Smartshares | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | 1.46% | 0.55% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | 5 | 5 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | 9.28% | 8.31% | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | NZ$18m | NZ$18m | 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 to NZD | — | Hedged smooths NZD/foreign FX moves at a small cost. |
| Responsible investment screening | No | Yes | 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
Mercer
Mercer Core Hedged Global Shares Fund
The fund invests in shares listed on share markets predominately in developed economies and is fully hedged to the New Zealand dollar. The portfolio uses multiple managers and is diversified by region, manager and investment approaches. Environmental, Social and Governance characteristics are integrated into the underlying investment managers’ investment processes. The fund aims to provide a Gross Return above the return of the MSCI World Index with net dividends reinvested (100% hedged NZD on an after-tax basis) on a rolling three-year basis.Full Mercer Mercer Core Hedged Global Shares Fund profile →
Smartshares
Smart Japan ESG ETF
The Smart Japan ESG ETF is designed to track the return (before tax, fees and other expenses) of the MSCI Japan Screened Index. The Index is comprised of Japanese companies screened for exposure to controversial weapons, civilian firearms, tobacco, thermal coal and oil sands. The Index excludes companies that fail to comply with the United Nations Global Compact Principles. For more information, please refer to the Smart Responsible Investment Policy.Full Smartshares Smart Japan ESG ETF profile →
Documents
Crawled directly from each manager's website. How we record provenance →
Smartshares
Common questions
What's the difference between the Mercer Core Hedged Global Shares Fund and the Smart Japan ESG ETF?
Which fund has lower fees, Mercer Core Hedged Global Shares Fund or Smart Japan ESG 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?
