Fund-vs-fund · International Equities
Smart US 500 ETF vs Te Ahumairangi Global Equity Fund
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 Smart US 500 ETF is a single-holding wrapper: 99.93% of its portfolio sits in the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, giving investors passive, market-cap-weighted exposure to large-cap US equities. Te Ahumairangi Global Equity Fund, by contrast, holds a diversified roster of individual global equities — Microsoft, Verizon, Apple, Alphabet, and Everest Group appear among its disclosed top holdings, each at low single-digit weights — indicating an actively managed, stock-selection approach across multiple geographies.
This structural difference flows through to fees and risk. Smartshares discloses an annual fund charge of 0.34%, while Te Ahumairangi discloses 0.62% — a difference of 28 basis points. Despite both funds carrying an identical growth-assets allocation of 98.31%, the FMA risk indicators diverge: the Smart US 500 ETF is rated 5 (higher volatility, reflecting US equity concentration), while Te Ahumairangi is rated 4. Fund size is comparable — roughly NZD 1.015 billion versus NZD 889 million respectively.
On returns, the Smart US 500 ETF discloses a five-year annualised return of 17.84%; Te Ahumairangi's five-year return figure is not available in this snapshot, likely reflecting the fund's shorter track record at the time of its latest Quarterly Fund Update. Investors requiring a direct long-run performance comparison should note this gap.
Always verify fees, returns, and risk indicators against each fund's current Product Disclosure Statement 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 US 500 ETF charges 0.28% lower in annual fund charges (0.34% vs 0.62%).
- 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 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
Smartshares
0.34%
Lowest 23% of cohort
Te Ahumairangi
0.62%
Upper half of cohort
5-year return p.a.
Past performance — not a predictor
Smartshares
14.14%
Top 1% over 5 years
Te Ahumairangi
—
—
Fund size
Larger = more stable, lower close-risk
Smartshares
NZ$963m
Largest 4% in cohort
Te Ahumairangi
NZ$889m
Largest 7% in cohort
| Metric | Smartshares | Te Ahumairangi | Lower / higher is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fund charge | 0.34% | 0.62% | Lower is better |
| Risk indicator (1–7) | 5 | 4 | Higher = more volatility |
| 5-year return p.a. | 14.14% | — | Higher is better (past not future) |
| Fund size | NZ$963m | NZ$889m | 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.
Matching holdings
1
of each fund's top 10
Smartshares weight in shared
0.6%
of Smart US 500 ETF top 10 is shared
Te Ahumairangi weight in shared
1.4%
of Te Ahumairangi Global Equity Fund top 10 is shared
| Holding | Smartshares | Te Ahumairangi |
|---|---|---|
| $ NZD Cash Account (ANZ Bank) NZ | 0.58% | 1.42% |
"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
Smartshares
Smart US 500 ETF
The Smart US 500 ETF is designed to track the return (before tax, fees and other expenses) of the S&P 500 Index. The Index is comprised of 500 of the largest listed companies in the United States.Full Smartshares Smart US 500 ETF profile →
Te Ahumairangi
Te Ahumairangi Global Equity Fund
The fund invests in global equities across various listed equity markets and will typically maintain a small weight (0 to 5%) in cash to maintain liquidity / flexibility but will occasionally hold a higher cash weighting if the investment manager considers this appropriate. The fund may use leverage of up to 5% of the aggregate value of its investments, but only for the purposes of providing short-term liquidity. The fund may use forward foreign exchange contracts to tilt the foreign exchange exposures of the portfolio but will typically have over 90% net unhedgedFull Te Ahumairangi Te Ahumairangi Global Equity Fund profile →
Common questions
What's the difference between the Smart US 500 ETF and the Te Ahumairangi Global Equity Fund?
Which fund has lower fees, Smart US 500 ETF or Te Ahumairangi Global Equity Fund?
Are both funds PIE-taxed in NZ?
Where can I read the official documents for these funds?
