Betashares expands global market exposure with 2 ETFs

ETF provider Betashares has launched a global shares and a global infrastructure ETF as part of the firm’s strategic expansion strategy to support financial advisers in building more diversified portfolios.

Set to hit the ASX in early November, the Betashares Global Shares Ex US ETF (EXUS) will deliver exposure to more than 900 large and mid-cap companies across 22 developed markets, excluding the United States and Australia.

According to Betashares, US equities make up around 70 per cent of developed market indices, while Australian investors typically hold higher allocations in domestic equities. 

In order to alleviate this, EXUS is designed to reduce portfolio concentration risk for advisers and their clients, the firm explained, by rebalancing away from markets that currently dominate global benchmarks. 

By holding its underlying stocks directly, Betashares said the ETF will allow investors to benefit from access to foreign tax credits and dividend income in a tax-efficient manner.

The firm also announced the launch of the Betashares FTSE Global Infrastructure Shares Currency Hedged ETF (TOLL), expanding investors exposure to global infrastructure companies, such as utilities, transportation, energy pipelines and telecommunications, under a currency hedged structure. TOLL is now available on the ASX.

Speaking on the launch, Betashares chief executive Alex Vynokur said the new ETFs open investors up to greater diversification opportunities that will improve portfolio resilience.

“At a time when equity market concentration is elevated in both US and Australian equities, EXUS will help investors address this overweight position in their portfolios, as well as offering the tax efficiency of investing in an Australian-domiciled ETF which holds shares directly,” Vynokur said.

“At the same time, TOLL provides exposure to global infrastructure companies delivering essential services that tend to remain in demand throughout the economic cycle. These businesses often possess pricing power and inflation-linked revenues, making them a valuable portfolio building block and an additional source of diversification.”

This announcement builds on the momentum of the firm over the last several months with the launch of several investment solutions.

In September, the firm launched its first private markets offering - Betashares Capital Cliffwater Private Credit Fund – as an unlisted fund aimed at providing a highly diversified portfolio of secured, floating-rate loans to predominantly US middle-market companies, investing in a fund managed by Cliffwater LLC, a private markets asset manager.

Meanwhile, the end of September saw the Betashares MSCI Emerging Markets Complex ETF (BEMG) hit the ASX, offering exposure to over 1,200 companies across the technology, financials, consumer goods, and resources sectors which can be challenging for investors to access directly.

With a management fee of just 0.35 per cent per annum, the ETF provides investors with cost-effective access to 24 emerging market economies. Like those being launched this month, BEMG is also aimed at providing diversification opportunities outside the US and Australia.

The very same week, the firm expanded its Wealth Builder range with the launch of the Betashares Wealth Builder Global Shares Geared (30-40% LVR) Complex ETF to provide exposure to an index of 1,300 developed markets across 20 countries.

The moderately geared ETF, Betashares explained, is designed to deliver access to potential accelerated wealth creation, leveraging long-term growth prospects of global share markets and borrowing at international rates that are typically lower than those for individual investors.