Fund-vs-fund · Diversified
Mercer Income Generator Fund vs SBS Wealth Balanced Strategy
Both are Diversified 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 portfolio construction approach. The Mercer Income Generator Fund holds individual securities directly — its top positions include Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited (5.03%), Auckland International Airport Limited (3.20%), and Infratil Limited (2.66%), alongside bond instruments such as the iShares MBS ETF and a New Zealand Government Bond maturing 2029. The SBS Wealth Balanced Strategy takes a fund-of-funds approach, allocating through third-party managed funds: Dimensional Global Sustainability PIE Fund NZD Hedged dominates at 21.34%, followed by Harbour NZ Core Fixed Interest Fund (14.37%) and iShares Global Aggregate Bond ESG UCITS ETF NZD Hedged (11.16%), with a visible sustainability and ESG tilt across its holdings.
Despite this structural divergence, both funds sit at risk indicator 4 on the standard 1–7 scale and carry an identical growth asset allocation of 53.15%, placing them in broadly comparable risk territory within the Diversified category.
On fees, the Mercer fund charges 1.28% annually versus SBS Wealth's 1.03% — a 25-basis-point difference that compounds materially over time. On performance, Mercer discloses a five-year annualised return of 2.47%; SBS Wealth's five-year return figure is not available in this snapshot, so direct historical performance comparison cannot be made. Fund sizes are similar: Mercer at approximately NZD 20.7 million and SBS Wealth at approximately NZD 17.1 million.
Readers should verify all figures against each fund's current Product Disclosure Statement 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
- SBS Wealth Balanced Strategy charges 0.25% lower in annual fund charges (1.03% vs 1.28%).
- 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 67 diversified funds we've matched on Sorted Smart Investor. Mechanical only — no opinion, no forward-looking view.
Annual fund charge
Lower is better
Mercer
1.28%
Highest 23% of cohort
SBS Wealth
1.03%
Upper half of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
Mercer
2.47%
Lower half over 5 years
SBS Wealth
—
—
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
Mercer
NZ$21m
Lower half by size
SBS Wealth
NZ$17m
Lower half by size
| Metric | Mercer | SBS Wealth | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | 1.28% | 1.03% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | 4 | 4 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | 2.47% | — | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | NZ$21m | NZ$17m | Larger = more stable, lower close-risk |
| Growth / income split | 53% / 47% | 53% / 47% | 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 | 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 Income Generator Fund
The fund aims to provide a gross fixed monthly income in excess of bank deposit rates, along with a positive return on capital over the long term. To achieve this, the fund invests in a diversified mix of growth and defensive assets, with a focus on reliable income generation. Environmental, Social and Governance characteristics are integrated into the underlying investment managers’ investment processes. The fund aims to maximise the amount of the monthly distribution payments to investors by outperforming, over the medium term, the weighted average return of tFull Mercer Mercer Income Generator Fund profile →
SBS Wealth
SBS Wealth Balanced Strategy
The Strategy aims to achieve medium capital growth and returns over the medium to long term, with an emphasis on balancing capital growth with stable returns. The Strategy invests into the following SBS Wealth funds: 45% into the World Equity Portfolio; 15% into the Australasian Equity Portfolio; 25% into the World Bond Portfolio; and 15% into the New Zealand Bond Portfolio.Full SBS Wealth SBS Wealth Balanced Strategy profile →
Documents
Crawled directly from each manager's website. How we record provenance →
SBS Wealth
Common questions
What's the difference between the Mercer Income Generator Fund and the SBS Wealth Balanced Strategy?
Which fund has lower fees, Mercer Income Generator Fund or SBS Wealth Balanced Strategy?
Are both funds PIE-taxed in NZ?
Where can I read the official documents for these funds?
