Which Aus ETFs have performed post-March?
Only three Australian equity exchange traded funds (ETFs) have outperformed in the sector coming out of the March sell-off.
According to FE Analytics, within the Australian Core Strategies universe, the Australian equities sector had returned 20.74% since 31 March, 2020, to 31 October, 2020.
In the 200-plus strong sector, only 18 were ETFs and the three that beat the sector average were VanEck Australian Equal Weight (25.47%), BetaShares Australian Ex-20 Portfolio Diversifier (25.26%) and BlackRock iShares Edge MSCI Australia Multifactor (23.34%).
Rather than tracking the ASX 200 or 300, the VanEck Australian Equal Weight ETF tracked the MVIS Australia Equal Weight Index which was a “pure-play index that includes the largest and most liquid ASX-listed companies, combining benchmark with blue-chip characteristics, purpose-built to capture the true performance of the Australian equities market, with real diversification across both securities and sectors”.
The BetaShares Ex-20 ETF tracked the ASX 200, minus the top 20 stocks, giving exposure to mid-cap stocks on the exchange.
The Blackrock iShares ETF tracked the MSCI Australia IMI Diversified Multiple Factor (AUD) Index, which targeted four style areas – quality, value, size (smaller companies) and momentum.
The next two best-performing ETFs were Van Eck Vectors MSCI Australian Sustainable Equity (20.71%) and ETF Securities SelfWealth SMSF Leaders (19.71%).
There were 38 managed funds that outperformed the best-performing ETF, but only the negatively correlated BetaShares Australian Equities Bear Hedge ETF had returned a loss in that time frame.
The next worst performing ETF was the BetaShares Managed Risk Australian Share which returned 5.76%.
There were five managed funds that performed below that: CFS Milliman Managed Risk Australian Share (5.37%), Lazard Select Australian Equity (3.98%), APSEC Atlantic Pacific Australian Equity (3.58%), Mutual 50 Leaders Australian Shares (0.2%) and Pentalpha Income For Life (-3.64%).
Best-performing Australian equity ETFs over the last seven months to 31 October 2020
Recommended for you
In the latest Meet the Manager profile, Money Management speaks with Michael Skinner, founder and managing director at Blackwattle Investment Partners.
Perpetual has seen AUM rise 6 per cent in the last quarter but the departure of a longstanding JOHCM fund manager led to outflows of $2.2 billion from his strategy.
Global fixed income fund Bentham Global Opportunities has been added to several major platforms, enabling it to be accessed more easily by financial advisers.
Following yesterday’s news about First Sentier Investors closing four investment teams, a second global asset manager has announced it is closing its only dedicated Australian fund.