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 basket of individual global equities — its top five positions are Nvidia (5.25%), Apple (4.92%), Microsoft (3.27%), Alphabet (2.58%), and Amazon (2.32%), spread across multiple geographies — and applies currency hedging as indicated by its name. The Smart Japan ESG ETF, managed by Smartshares, concentrates 99.91% of its portfolio in a single underlying instrument, the iShares MSCI Japan ESG Screened UCITS ETF, giving investors single-country (Japan) exposure filtered through an ESG screen, with negligible NZD and USD cash rounding out the portfolio.
Fee structures differ substantially. The Mercer fund carries an annual fund charge of 1.46%, compared with 0.55% for the Smartshares ETF — a gap of 0.91 percentage points that compounds meaningfully over time. Both funds sit at risk indicator 5 on the standard 1–7 scale and hold near-identical growth asset allocations of 98.31%. Over five years, Mercer returned 9.28% per annum versus 8.82% for Smart Japan ESG, though past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns and the differing regional and currency exposures mean these figures reflect materially different market drivers.
Fund sizes are comparable: Mercer at NZD 17.6 million and Smartshares at NZD 14.6 million. Neither fund is described as a KiwiSaver scheme account product in this data snapshot.
Verify all figures against each fund's current PDS 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
- 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?
