Kernel US Bond Fund
Fund Update for the Quarter Ended 30 June 2025
This fund update was first made publicly available on 28 July 2025.
What is the purpose of this update?
This document tells you how the Kernel US Bond Fund has performed and what fees were charged. The document will help you to 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.
How has the fund performed?
| Annual return | Past Year |
|---|---|
| (after deductions for charges and tax) | 3.62% |
| (after deductions for charges but before tax) | 5.02% |
| Market index annual return (reflects no deduction for charges and tax) | 5.26% |
The market index annual return is based on the annual return of the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index Hedged 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 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. For the year ending 31 March 2025: Fund return was 2.81%, Market Index return was 4.28%. Average Annual Return: Fund return was 2.99%, Market Index return was 4.57%.
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.
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 $502 (that is 5.02% of her initial $10,000). This gives Emma a total return after tax of $362 for the period.
Description of this fund
The Kernel US Bond Fund's investment objective is to provide a return (before tax, fees and expenses) that closely matches the return on the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index Hedged NZD.
Total value of the fund: $12,036,739
The date the fund started: 11 December 2023
What are the risks of investing?
Risk indicator for the Kernel US Bond Fund:
The risk indicator is rated from 1 (low) to 7 (high). The rating reflects how much the value of the fund's 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 you 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 fund's 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 - Diversified & Other Funds for more information about the risks associated with investing in this fund.
What fees are investors charged?
Investors in the Kernel US Bond Fund are charged fund charges. In the year to 31 March 2025 these were:
| Description | % per annum of fund's net asset value |
|---|---|
| Total fund charges | 0.30% |
| Which are made up of: | |
| Total management and administration charges | 0.30% |
| Including: | |
| Manager's basic fee | 0.30% |
| 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
This shows the types of assets that the fund invests in. The actual investment mix shows that the fund invests primarily in International fixed interest (99.81%) with a small portion in Cash and cash equivalents (0.19%).
Target investment mix
This shows the mix of assets that the fund generally intends to invest in. The target asset mix is 100% International fixed interest.
Top 10 Investments
| Name | % of fund's net asset value | Type | Country | Credit rating (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF | 99.81% | International equities | United States | |
| Hedging Contracts | 1.42% | Cash and cash equivalents | New Zealand | |
| US Dollar | 0.00% | Cash and cash equivalents | United States |
The top 10 investments make up 101.23% 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 98.60%.
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 |
| Matthew Winton | Portfolio Manager | 3 | 1 | Europe Head of Linear Interest Rate Products, BNP Paribas, London | 7 | 0 |
Further information
You can also obtain this information, the Product Disclosure Statement - Diversified & Other 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 3 year(s) 6 month(s) of market index returns.
