Fund-vs-fund · Listed Property
NZ Funds Global Property vs Smart NZ 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 their investment universe and portfolio construction. The Smart NZ Property ETF (Smartshares) holds exclusively New Zealand-listed property securities, with its five largest positions — Goodman Property Trust, Kiwi Property Group, Precinct Properties, Property for Industry, and Vital Healthcare — each individually weighted between 12% and 18%, producing a highly concentrated domestic exposure. NZ Funds Global Property (NZ Funds) takes a globally diversified approach, with US-listed REITs such as Equinix, Digital Realty Trust, and Kimco Realty among its top holdings, alongside a 6.46% cash position and Goldman Sachs Futures exposure, suggesting active use of derivatives.
This difference in scope is reflected in the asset allocation split. The Smartshares fund carries 98.31% in growth assets; the NZ Funds vehicle sits at 78.48%, with the remainder in income and cash. Both funds share a risk indicator of 5.
The fee gap is substantial. Smartshares discloses an annual fund charge of 0.54%; NZ Funds discloses 2.52% — a difference of 198 basis points that compounds materially over time. On performance, the Smartshares fund reports a five-year return of 3.03% per annum. NZ Funds Global Property's five-year return figure is not available in our snapshot, so direct historical comparison is not possible. Fund sizes are $78.2 million and $51.3 million respectively.
Readers should verify all figures against each fund's current Product Disclosure Statement and latest Quarterly Fund Update on FMA Disclose before relying on this summary.
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 NZ Property ETF charges 1.98% lower in annual fund charges (0.54% vs 2.52%).
- 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
NZ Funds
2.52%
Highest 7% of cohort
Smartshares
0.54%
Lowest 13% of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
NZ Funds
—
—
Smartshares
3.03%
Upper half over 5 years
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
NZ Funds
NZ$51m
Upper half by size
Smartshares
NZ$78m
Upper half by size
| Metric | NZ Funds | Smartshares | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | 2.52% | 0.54% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | 5 | 5 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | — | 3.03% | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | NZ$51m | NZ$78m | Larger = more stable, lower close-risk |
| Growth / income split | 78% / 22% | 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.
Matching holdings
1
of each fund's top 10
NZ Funds weight in shared
6.5%
of NZ Funds Global Property top 10 is shared
Smartshares weight in shared
0.5%
of Smart NZ Property ETF top 10 is shared
| Holding | NZ Funds | Smartshares |
|---|---|---|
 Westpac Cash NZ | 6.46% | 0.45% |
"Min weight" = the smaller of the two weights — a conservative read of how much exposure you'd have to that position if you held both funds.
What each fund says it does
NZ Funds
NZ Funds Global Property
The objective of the Global Property fund is to mitigate the impact of inflation on your investment over the medium and/or long term with active management. The fund is anticipated to mainly own and trade international property company shares. The fund may also hold other actively managed authorised asset classes.Full NZ Funds NZ Funds Global Property profile →
Smartshares
Smart NZ Property ETF
The Smart NZ Property ETF is designed to track the return (before tax, fees and other expenses) of the S&P/NZX Real Estate Select Index. The Index is comprised of the largest and most liquid members of the S&P/NZX All Index classified under the GICS Real Estate Industry Group.Full Smartshares Smart NZ Property ETF profile →
Common questions
What's the difference between the NZ Funds Global Property and the Smart NZ Property ETF?
Which fund has lower fees, NZ Funds Global Property or Smart NZ Property ETF?
Are both funds PIE-taxed in NZ?
Where can I read the official documents for these funds?
