Misryoum reports the latest SPIVA NZ scorecard: most bond funds underperformed, while equity results were mixed amid higher dispersion.
A new SPIVA NZ scorecard has delivered a sharp reminder that active investing can struggle to beat the benchmark, even when markets change.
Misryoum says the latest second NZ-only annual SPIVA report found local bond managers finished 2025 with a tougher relative showing than their fixed-income peers did in 2024.. Almost 80% of NZ bond funds underperformed the S&P/NZX Composite Investment Grade Bond Index, reversing last year’s pattern when far fewer active funds lagged.
The report also points to how results look different depending on the way performance is measured.. On a simple comparison, the average bond fund returned 4.84% versus the benchmark at 5.11%, but on an asset-weighted basis, Misryoum notes the average jumps to around 5.0%, nearly matching the index gain.
Misryoum’s takeaway: this gap between equal-weighted and asset-weighted figures matters because it reflects where investors’ money actually sat, not just what funds advertised on paper.
Equity results were no less telling. According to Misryoum, 65% of actively managed NZ share funds failed to beat the index last year, with the broad pattern resembling the results seen across longer windows.
Meanwhile, global equity funds painted a more uneven picture.. Misryoum reports that active unhedged global share funds started 2025 with a stronger read on their benchmark, but the tone shifted over the full year as underperformance became more common, and both hedged and unhedged international equity cohorts fell behind their respective index gains in NZ dollar and US currency terms.
Only a small slice of funds managed to stay in business over the latest year.. Misryoum says the SPIVA study found just one of the 118 actively managed funds in its NZ sample closed during the period, while longer-run survival was lower, with a meaningful portion of funds shutting or merging over a 10- and 15-year span.
In this context, Misryoum says the point isn’t just about performance tables, but about what happens when funds disappear and how that can reshape the underperformance story over time.
The SPIVA methodology also comes with a practical caveat. Misryoum reports that active fund returns are shown after expenses but do not include loads and entry fees, and that benchmarks are selected to be representative, though not every fund uses the same hurdle in the same way.
Looking across the broader market backdrop, Misryoum highlights the report’s view that stock dispersion in 2025 tightened in NZ while global markets showed increasing divergence among individual stocks.. The study suggests this can create opportunity for skilled managers, but also increases the risk for managers who do not deliver.. In a release cited by Misryoum, Sue Lee, APAC head of index investment strategy, described last year as another challenging period for active funds in New Zealand.
Misryoum’s closing insight: benchmark-relative results like these can help investors sanity-check expectations about what “active” delivers, especially after costs, fees, and shifting market conditions are accounted for.