Kernel S&P 500 (NZD Hedged) Fund Update
For the quarter ended 30 June 2025
Published: 28 July 2025
Purpose of this Update
This document details how the Kernel S&P 500 (NZD Hedged) Fund has performed and what fees were charged. It helps compare the fund with other funds. Kernel Wealth Limited prepared this update in accordance with the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. This information is not audited and may be updated.
Fund Performance
How has the fund performed?
This shows the return after fund charges and tax for each year ending 31 March since the fund started. The last bar shows the average annual return since the fund started, up to 30 June 2025. Important: This does not tell you how the fund will perform in the future. Returns in this update are after tax at the highest prescribed investor rate (PIR) of tax for an individual New Zealand resident. Your tax may be lower.
| Past Year | |
|---|---|
| Annual return (after deductions for charges and tax) | 12.55% |
| Annual return (after deductions for charges but before tax) | 13.23% |
| Market index annual return (reflects no deduction for charges and tax) | 13.90% |
The market index annual return is based on the annual return of the S&P 500 Dynamic Hedged Index (NZD). Additional information about the market index is available in the 'Statement of Investment Policy and Objectives' document on the offer register at www.disclose-register.companiesoffice.govt.nz.
Annual return graph
The annual return graph shows performance data for the fund and the market index. For the year ending 31 March 2024, the fund returned 28.87% and the market index returned 29.27%. For the year ending 31 March 2025, the fund returned 7.89% and the market index returned 7.63%. The average annual return for the fund is 10.94%, and for the market index is 11.31%.
Fund Details
Total value of the fund: $113,283,867
The date the fund started: 11 April 2022
Risks of Investing
Risk indicator for the Kernel S&P 500 (NZD Hedged) Fund:
The risk indicator is rated from 1 (low) to 7 (high). The rating reflects how much the value of the assets goes up and down. A higher risk generally means higher potential returns over time, but more ups and downs along the way. To help clarify your own attitude to risk, you can seek financial advice or work out your risk profile at sorted.org.nz/tools/investor-profiler.
Note that even the lowest category does not mean a risk-free investment, and there are other risks that are not captured by this rating.
This risk indicator is not a guarantee of a future performance. The risk indicator is based on the returns data for 5 years to 30 June 2025. While risk indicators are usually relatively stable, they do shift from time to time. The risk indicator will continue to be updated in future fund updates. See the Product Disclosure Statement - Equity Funds for the Kernel Funds for more information about the risks associated with investing in this fund.
Fees Charged to Investors
Investors in the Kernel S&P 500 (NZD Hedged) Fund are charged fund charges. In the year to 31 March 2025 these were:
| % per annum of fund's net asset value | |
|---|---|
| Total fund charges | 0.25% |
| Which are made up of: | |
| Total management and administration charges | 0.25% |
| Including - | |
| Manager's basic fee | 0.25% |
| Other management and administration charges | 0.00% |
Investors are not charged individual action fees for specific actions or decisions (for example, for withdrawing from funds). All fees are inclusive of GST. Small differences in fees and charges can have a big impact on your investment over the long term.
What does the fund invest in?
Actual investment mix
The actual investment mix shows that the fund primarily invests in International equities (99.52%), with a small portion in Cash and cash equivalents (0.48%).
Target investment mix
This shows the mix of assets that the fund generally intends to invest in.
| Asset Category | Target asset mix |
|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | - |
| New Zealand fixed interest | - |
| International fixed interest | - |
| Australasian equities | - |
| International equities | 100.00% |
| Listed property | - |
| Unlisted property | - |
| Commodities | - |
| Other | - |
Top 10 Investments
| Name | % of fund's net asset value | Type | Country | Credit rating (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | 99.52% | International equities | United States | |
| New Zealand Dollar | 1.66% | Cash and cash equivalents | New Zealand |
The top 10 investments make up 102.60% of the fund's net asset value.
Currency hedging - The fund is hedged back to New Zealand dollars. As at 30 June 2025, the hedging ratio was 99.21%.
Key Personnel
This shows the directors and employees who have the most influence on the investment decisions of the fund:
| Name | Current position | Years | Months | Previous position | Years | Months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dean Anderson | Chief Executive | 6 | 9 | Smartshares Product Manager, NZX | 4 | 4 |
| Stephen Upton | Chief Operating Officer | 6 | 0 | Smartshares Chief Operating Officer - NZX | 3 | 6 |
| Kerry McIntosh | Chairman | 6 | 0 | Operating Partner, Zino Ventures (current) | 7 | 4 |
| Vicki Dale | Investment Committee Member | 2 | 7 | Risk and Compliance Manager, Kernel Wealth (current) | 3 | 8 |
| Rhea Prasad | Portfolio Manager | 2 | 7 | Investment Dealer, Pie Funds | 1 | 3 |
Example of how this applies to an investor
Emma had $10,000 in the fund on 1 July 2024 and did not make any further contributions. On 30 June 2025, Emma received a return after fund charges were deducted of $1,323 (that is 13.23% of her initial $10,000). This gives Emma a total return after tax of $1,255 for the period.
Further Information
You can also obtain this information, the Product Disclosure Statement - Equity Funds for the Kernel Funds, and some additional information from the offer register at www.disclose-register.companiesoffice.govt.nz.
Notes
Market index returns (as well as actual returns) have been used to complete the risk indicator, as the fund has not been in existence for 5 years. As a result, the risk indicator may provide a less reliable indicator of the potential future volatility of the fund. The risk indicator for the fund uses 1 year(s) 10 month(s) of market index returns.
