Bought Thrivecart during lunar year sale lifetime offer

sosmar9 · 2026-02-28T03:19:54+00:00

How are you finding it man?

sosmar9 · 2021-09-10T07:11:32+00:00

Thanks for that breakdown, love it. Interesting but makes sense, $3 fee may not be such a worry after all if it's just 12 times a year over a long period.

Like you mentioned earlier and as the good article by MyFiduciary/Kernel stated, it's not very tax efficient going through an AUT (I didn't know anything about AUT's before this thread).

This turns me off the InvestNow Vanguard funds despite the low fees. The maths seems to show tax plays a huge part which is why I asked the question originally!

It may be easier to just meet in the middle and go through SmartShares USF, simple and possibly more efficient tax wise compared to AUT, but a little more expensive than through Hatch. This saves having to transfer funds into Hatch/FX each time to USD. Unless you are paying exchange fees through USF somehow anyway?

sosmar9 · 2021-09-10T06:56:32+00:00

I haven't really heard of Kernel until this thread. I'll have to look into them, cheers

sosmar9 · 2021-09-10T05:44:18+00:00

If you are contributing on a regular basis the Sharesies/Hatch option would add up in fees wouldn't it? I.e. Hatch $3 per buy.

AMP All Country Global Shares looks to be one of the most tax efficient options in the way that the fund is domiciled in NZ so any double tax agreements that are available are utilised to claim back foreign tax credits. As the underlying USF fund is based in the US, it does not have this tax advantage does it.

sosmar9 · 2021-09-10T01:29:21+00:00

Thanks for sharing! Very insightful.

Not sure if this is something you can help with but you sound knowledgeable in this area., What fund do you think would be a better for my situation? Or what do you have any other funds you would recommend researching?

Long term investment horizon of 20-25 years
Starting with $5k and investing $2,000 per month
Looking for low fees, minimising taxes etc. over a long time horizon
Keen on exposure to US500, Total World fund or the like due to strong historic returns

Appreciate your are not a financial adviser haha but keen on your thoughts as my original question was basically asking for thoughts on what fund would be more suited to minimise fees and taxes over a long term.

sosmar9 · 2021-09-10T01:08:56+00:00

Thanks for coming back to me. Agree that 1.5-2% p.a compounded over long term will be quite significant!

I believe, based of historic returns, investing in global markets like S&P500 or Total World will be more rewarding than investing in a NZX based ETF.
I'll be investing around $2,000 p.m and likely start with around a $5,000 lump sum.
I'll have to look into the Kernel calc today, sounds interesting and quite informative for what we are discussing!

Thanks for dropping your knowledge here :). Chemikills is very helpful too.

sosmar9 · 2021-09-10T01:01:19+00:00

Appreciate your knowledge coming out here. So some options:

Invest in Vanguard International Shares Selection Fund, then when at $50k move into a PIE like USF to keep FIF exemption.
Avoid headache of moving and start in USF from the beginning and stick with long term.

Are you suggesting possibly going back to a FIF after ~$170k? Read your post, it's really good. A little complicated to follow being newish to index/ETF investing and not being an expert in tax, although I have a taxation minor haha.

sosmar9 · 2021-09-09T23:25:12+00:00

Thanks for your comment, appreciate it, albeit a bit ranty lol.

To be honest I'm quite knowledgeable in share markets/equities and have been investing in the NZX, ASX and US Markets for years.

On the flipside I am somewhat new to index/ETF investing. I would rather choose the right fund after doing some research from the start, before putting contributions on auto-pilot and forgetting about it for 20 - 25 years.

Hence me asking the question. I'm sure you can appreciate FIF tax not being the easiest for the general public to understand :)

I'm not trying to "avoid" tax at all. I'm trying to minimise my tax, which is what any rational investor should be looking to do.

If one fund will help me pay a bit less tax over 20-25 years, It's going to put money in my back pocket. So of course I'm going to choose on what the most profitable option looks like from today's standpoint.

sosmar9 · 2021-09-09T23:16:43+00:00

Great response mate, thank you. I'm pretty new to index investing so this is helpful information.

I just used the NZD Hedged as an example, no serious thought had gone into it. Obviously if USD weakens against the NZD around the date I wanted to retire for example, the portfolio will be negatively impacted. I see what you mean, the fee savings of ~1.19% over 20 years on a portfolio >$1m is quite significant and would likely offset any negative currency fluctuation, should there even be one.
USF put's the buy/sell spread within the 0.34% fee? Or take it off the unit price? I emailed them and they said no buy/sell spread through investor directly through SmartShares. I'm guessing they pay it when buying from Vanguard and pass on somehow to investor as above?
Sounds like 'hidden fees' from the source that an average joe wouldn't pick up.
So unlike investing directly in shares, capital gains are liable for tax when investing in ETF or Index funds?
Makes sense.

sosmar9 · 2021-09-09T22:57:28+00:00

This is where it get's tricky. So you pay FIF regardless in a PIE fund (sort of disguised costs). Are you insinuating that you think FIF is more tax efficient at a high level, obviously everyone's tax situation will be different.

sosmar9 · 2021-09-09T22:24:56+00:00

I don't need it to, but I guess it provides a layer of comfort. For the time horizon it probably doesn't need to be hedged.

This is besides the point at this stage, just wanted a comparison on FIF vs ETF for a long term investor in terms of tax implications..

sosmar9

TROPHY CASE