What Smartshares does

Smartshares Limited is New Zealand's first and largest issuer of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), headquartered at Level 15, 45 Queen Street, Auckland, and operating under the consumer-facing brand "Smart." Founded in 1994, the company has spent 30 years building a retail investment franchise targeting Kiwi investors across self-directed, advised, and broker-served segments. It offers over 40 ETF funds spanning New Zealand, Australian, US and International shares, Thematic shares, Property, Bonds and Cash, plus the NZ Core Equity Trust and a low-cost "Core Series" sub-brand. Distribution is multi-channel: a direct online investment platform (smart.investorservices.co.nz), licensed financial advisers, stockbrokers, and third-party trading platforms.

Underlying technology is described as an "ETF management platform" with no proprietary features, patents, APIs, or AI/ML components disclosed. The product is fund-issuance and portfolio management infrastructure that creates, lists, and administers ETFs on the New Zealand exchange, with revenue derived from expense ratios applied to assets under management — a subscription/recurring revenue model billed annually. Pricing is positioned as "some of the lowest fees in the market," although specific rate schedules are not publicly disclosed in the source material.

The business model is asset-light and recurring: Smart earns management fees on AUM across its 40+ funds, with cost structure lean enough to support the disclosed 11–50 employee headcount. Customer segmentation is horizontal across three personas — self-directed individual investors, advised investors, and broker/platform investors — all served via the same fund shelf. The company operates exclusively within New Zealand, with international exposure delivered through index-tracking inside NZ-domiciled wrappers rather than via cross-border distribution. No parent company, funding rounds, M&A, leadership changes, partnerships, or regulatory actions beyond routine product disclosure statements are documented.

Name

Smartshares

Legal name

Smartshares Limited

Website

https://smartshares.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Smartshares is New Zealand's first and largest Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) issuer, offering 40+ funds across multiple asset classes to Kiwi retail investors through direct online, financial adviser, broker, and trading platform channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Exchange Traded Funds / Asset Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector & Industry Equity ETFs (FSAAAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fixed Income ETFs (Government, Corporate, Munis, TIPS) (FSAAAFAD), Real Assets & Infrastructure ETFs (REITs, Infrastructure, Natural Resources) (FSAAAFAH)

Keywords

• Exchange traded funds
• ETF management
• Investment management
• Passive investing
• New Zealand funds

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. ETF Management Fees: Smart generates revenue through management fees charged on their ETF products. These are typically expense ratios applied to assets under management, providing a recurring revenue stream based on the total fund value held by investors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Smartshares Limited is the issuer and manager of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) for New Zealand retail investors, offering over 40 funds spanning New Zealand shares, Australian shares, US shares, International shares, Thematic shares, Property, Bonds and Cash, and the NZ Core Equity Trust. Investors can access these funds directly online, or indirectly through licensed financial advisers, stockbrokers, and third-party trading platforms, paying annual management fees (expense ratios) on assets invested.

Product overview

Smart is New Zealand's first and largest issuer of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), offering a single unified product line called Smart ETFs with over 40 funds. The core product suite includes Smart ETFs across multiple asset classes (NZ shares, Australian shares, US shares, International shares, Thematic shares, Property, and Bonds and Cash), supplemented by the NZ Core Equity Trust for direct equity investment, and the Core Series sub-brand providing low-cost ETF options. Smart operates as both the issuer and manager of these funds, enabling investors to build diversified portfolios through a single provider.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Smart ETFs New Zealand's first and largest range of Exchange Traded Funds, offering over 40 funds across NZ shares, Australian shares, US shares, International shares, Thematic shares, Property, and Bonds and Cash, available to individual Kiwi investors via direct online, advisers, brokers, or trading platforms.
• NZ Core Equity Trust A managed investment trust focused on New Zealand core equity investments, offered as part of Smart's broader portfolio of investment products for Kiwi investors seeking NZ equity exposure.
• Core Series A sub-brand of Smart ETFs designed for cost-conscious Kiwi investors, offering competitive fee structures within the Smart ETF range.

Quantifiable outcome

• Lowest fees in the New Zealand ETF market

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• iShares (BlackRock): BlackRock's iShares is the world's largest ETF issuer with a broad multi-asset range that overlaps directly with Smart's equity, bond, and property ETFs. It competes in NZ via NZX listings, making it a broad incumbent peer.
• Vanguard: Vanguard is a global leader in low-cost index ETFs and mutual funds. Its product philosophy and fee positioning directly mirror Smart's market-leading low-fee value proposition in NZ.
• State Street SPDR ETFs: State Street Global Advisors via SPDR is one of the original ETF families and offers diversified equity, sector, and bond ETFs comparable to Smart's product breadth. It is a global incumbent in the same category.
• ANZ Investments: ANZ Investments is a major NZ wealth and KiwiSaver provider with diversified funds competing for the same advised and direct investor segments Smart serves. It is a broad incumbent with bank distribution scale.

Direct peers

• BetaShares: BetaShares is Australia's largest ETF issuer with a comparable model of country/asset-class ETFs targeting retail investors at low fees. It is the closest direct analogue in a neighbouring market.
• Kernel Wealth: Kernel is a New Zealand-based managed fund and ETF provider targeting self-directed Kiwi investors with low-cost diversified funds. It competes directly with Smart in the NZ retail segment.
• Harbour Asset Management: Harbour is a New Zealand asset manager offering funds across NZ and international equities, fixed income, and property, overlapping with Smart's asset class coverage for Kiwi investors.
• Milford Asset Management: Milford is a prominent NZ-based investment manager offering diversified and sector funds to Kiwi investors. It competes for advised and direct investor AUM that Smart also targets.
• Fisher Funds: Fisher Funds is one of New Zealand's largest active and KiwiSaver fund managers, competing for the same pool of Kiwi retail and advised investors that Smart's ETFs serve.

Emerging players

• InvestNow: InvestNow is a NZ online investment platform that distributes multiple fund managers including ETFs. It is an emerging platform player that interfaces with Smart's products and competes for direct-investor wallet share.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smartshares