What are Australian share ETFs?
Similar in structure to a traditional managed fund, an ETF is an investment fund that is bought and sold on a stock exchange just like any share.
Australian share ETFs give you investment exposure to companies listed on the Australian sharemarket and typically aim to closely track the performance of a sharemarket index. However, not all Australian share exchange traded funds are passively managed, and these funds can be identified by having the label “managed fund” or “hedge fund” in their names.
Why invest in Australian shares via ETFs?
- Diversification in a single trade
- You can buy our funds just like any share on the ASX but, unlike a share in a single company, our Australian share funds provide exposure to a portfolio of shares, and so provide instant diversification, which reduces stock-specific investment risk in your portfolio.
- Simple to access
- Investing in one of our funds is as simple as buying a share on the ASX
- Transparent
- Portfolio holdings, value of the Fund’s assets and net asset value (NAV) per unit are available daily on our website.
How to build a portfolio with Australian share ETFs
As the Australian ETF industry has developed and matured, many investment options are now available for investors looking for Australian shares to buy. Investors are using Australian share ETFs and other funds to invest in the broad Australian sharemarket, in a particular sector, such as Australian technology, financial services or mining shares, to gain exposure to high-dividend paying Australian shares, and in various other strategies.
Betashares has a suite of funds which give you a simple way to construct the Australian shares component of your portfolio.
Types of Australian share ETFs
Our range of Australian share ETFs and other funds gives you a variety of investment options, including:
- Broad sharemarket exposure
- Exposure to a sector of the Australian sharemarket
- High-income strategies
- Managed risk strategies
- Ethical investing
- Geared funds
- Short funds
Australian share ETFs that generate income
Betashares has a number of exchange-traded products where the primary objective of the Fund is to generate income, and which pay income distributions either monthly or quarterly to investors.
An important consideration when investing for income is that funds which are designed with an income focus in mind may tilt the composition of investment returns away from capital growth and towards income generation. It’s important to consider whether this focus suits your financial circumstances and investment objectives.