Fund-vs-fund · Listed Property
Mint Australasian Property Fund vs Smart Australian Property ETF
Both are Listed Property 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 Mint Australasian Property Fund holds exclusively New Zealand-listed property securities — its five largest positions are all NZ-domiciled entities, with Precinct Properties NZ (19.77%), Kiwi Property Group (16.86%), and Goodman Property Trust (16.27%) dominating the portfolio. The Smart Australian Property ETF, managed by Smartshares, tracks Australian-listed property, with its top holdings spread across names such as DigiCo Infrastructure REIT (5.65%), Goodman Group (5.20%), and Scentre Group (5.16%), reflecting a more diversified, index-like construction where no single holding exceeds 6%.
This geographic difference also maps onto divergent risk profiles. Smartshares carries a risk indicator of 6 against Mint's 5, suggesting the Australian fund has exhibited greater return volatility over the measurement period. On fees, Smartshares charges 0.54% per annum versus Mint's 1.04% — a 50-basis-point gap that compounds meaningfully over time. Despite the lower fee, Smartshares' five-year return of 5.88% per annum compares with Mint's 0.89% over the same period, though past performance does not indicate future returns and currency movements, sector composition, and differing index methodologies all contribute to this divergence.
Both funds report identical growth asset allocations of 98.31%. Smartshares is the larger fund at approximately NZD 42.8 million versus Mint's NZD 19.3 million. Neither fund is a KiwiSaver scheme account option in this data snapshot.
Verify all figures against each fund's current PDS and latest Quarterly Fund Update on FMA Disclose before relying on 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 Australian Property ETF charges 0.53% lower in annual fund charges (0.54% vs 1.07%).
- 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 15 listed property funds we've matched on Sorted Smart Investor. Mechanical only — no opinion, no forward-looking view.
Annual fund charge
Lower is better
Mint
1.07%
Upper half of cohort
Smartshares
0.54%
Lowest 13% of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
Mint
2.51%
Lower half over 5 years
Smartshares
3.03%
Upper half over 5 years
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
Mint
NZ$17m
Smallest 23% in cohort
Smartshares
NZ$23m
Lower half by size
| Metric | Mint | Smartshares | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | 1.07% | 0.54% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | 5 | 6 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | 2.51% | 3.03% | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | NZ$17m | NZ$23m | 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 | 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
Mint
Mint Australasian Property Fund
The Fund invests predominantly in Australasian listed property and property-related equities. The Fund is benchmarked against the S&P/NZX All Real Estate (Industry Group) Gross Index with an investment objective of outperforming the benchmark after fees and expenses, over the medium to long term.Full Mint Mint Australasian Property Fund profile →
Smartshares
Smart Australian Property ETF
The Smart Australian Property ETF is designed to track the return (before tax, fees and other expenses) of the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Equal Weight Index. The Index equally weights the constituents of the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index, which is comprised of Australian Real Estate Investment Trusts (A-REITs) and mortgage REITs.Full Smartshares Smart Australian Property ETF profile →
Documents
Crawled directly from each manager's website. How we record provenance →
Mint
LiveLast verified 2026-05-08
- Quarterly Fund Update312 kB · file fingerprint recorded
- Supporting document648 kB · file fingerprint recorded
- Annual Report361 kB · file fingerprint recorded
- Statement of Investment Policy158 kB · file fingerprint recorded
- Product Disclosure Statement1853 kB · file fingerprint recorded
- Supporting document1425 kB · file fingerprint recorded
- + 2 more on the fund page
Smartshares
Common questions
What's the difference between the Mint Australasian Property Fund and the Smart Australian Property ETF?
Which fund has lower fees, Mint Australasian Property Fund or Smart Australian Property ETF?
How do the 5-year returns compare?
Are both funds PIE-taxed in NZ?
Where can I read the official documents for these funds?
