Key points
Diversified ETFs have become an increasingly popular route for investors to access professionally constructed portfolios in a single trade. By combining multiple asset classes and thousands of underlying securities within one fund, they can offer a simple and scalable alternative to constructing and maintaining a multi-asset portfolio.
Betashares has expanded its Diversified ETF range to provide a simple, low-cost way to implement strategic asset allocation across a range of investor risk profiles.
Introducing three new diversified ETFs
| Ticker | Fund | Risk profile | Growth / Defensive | Management Fee* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DVHG | Betashares Diversified High Growth ETF | High Growth | 90% Growth / 10% Defensive | 0.19% p.a. |
| DVGR | Betashares Diversified Growth ETF | Growth | 75% Growth / 25% Defensive | 0.19% p.a. |
| DVBA | Betashares Diversified Balanced ETF | Balanced | 60% Growth / 40% Defensive | 0.19% p.a. |
*Other costs, such as transactional costs, may apply. Refer to the Product Disclosure Statement for more information.
Together with the existing Betashares Diversified All Growth ETF (ASX: DHHF), the range now provides investors with diversified portfolio options spanning balanced through to all growth profiles.
Together with the existing DHHF Diversified All Growth ETF, the range now provides investors with diversified portfolio options spanning balanced through to all growth profiles.
A diversified portfolio in a single trade
Each of the three new diversified Funds provide an all-in-one, professionally constructed portfolio using broad-market, passive ETFs as the underlying building blocks. Through a single ASX trade, the Funds provide exposure to approximately 2,500 Australian and global companies and 12,000 bonds, with broad diversification across asset classes, regions and sectors. This can reduce the administration associated with managing multiple holdings, while providing either a simple standalone solution or a passive core to which smart beta or active strategies can be added.
Given asset allocation is one of the key drivers of long-term portfolio returns, getting the strategic mix right is critical. The diversified funds draw on the expertise of the Betashares Investment Committee to set each Fund’s strategic asset allocation, with rules-based rebalancing to maintain the intended risk profiles over time. This disciplined framework is implemented using passive ETFs, which have shown strong long-term performance by capturing broad-market returns.
By combining these exposures across major asset classes, the Funds aim to provide a strong foundation for long-term portfolio outcomes, while maintaining a management fee of 0.19% p.a., the lowest cost available across multi-asset diversified funds in Australia.
Risk profiles to suit your objectives
| Category | Asset Class | DVBA Balanced | DVGR Growth | DVHG High Growth | DHHF All Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth | Australian Equities | 23.00% | 28.75% | 34.50% | 37.00% |
| International Equities | 37.00% | 46.25% | 55.50% | 63.00% | |
| Growth total | 60.00% | 75.00% | 90.00% | 100.00% | |
| Defensive | Cash | 5.00% | |||
| Fixed Income | 35.00% | 25.00% | 10.00% | ||
| Defensive total | 40.00% | 25.00% | 10.00% | 0.00% |
The above mix of asset classes has been carefully selected by the Betashares Investment Committee to align with different investor objectives, whether your goal is greater capital stability or growth.
The Diversified Balanced ETF leans more heavily into cash and fixed income for their defensive characteristics, while the All Growth ETF invests only in equities, targeting long-term capital appreciation. The various outcomes of each risk profile are explored below, using simulated historical performance to help visualise the risk/return profile of each fund.
Simulated Historical Performance
In this section we illustrate performance characteristics of diversified investing strategies, using simulated historical performance of four diversified portfolios ranging from balanced to all growth risk profiles over the period from 31 December 2010 to 30 June 2026. It is based on certain assumptions, set out in the ‘Important information’ section at the end of this article. It is provided for illustrative purposes only and is not representative of actual fund performance. Actual outcomes may differ materially. It is not a recommendation to make any investment or adopt any investment strategy.
Simulated past performance is not indicative of future performance of any fund or strategy.
| Diversified Balanced Strategy | Diversified Growth Strategy | Diversified High Growth Strategy | Diversified All Growth Strategy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y (%) | 9.03 | 10.87 | 12.55 | 13.17 |
| 3Y (% p.a.) | 10.52 | 12.28 | 13.99 | 15.11 |
| 5Y (% p.a.) | 6.38 | 7.82 | 9.37 | 10.63 |
| 10Y (% p.a.) | 7.56 | 9.00 | 10.40 | 11.83 |
| Since Inception (% p.a.)* | 8.05 | 9.19 | 10.24 | 11.16 |
| Volatility (% p.a.) | 6.53 | 8.16 | 9.90 | 11.06 |
| Max drawdown (%) | -18.95 | -23.38 | -27.80 | -28.55 |
Source: Bloomberg, Betashares. Data from 31 December 2010 to 30 June 2026. Refer to the “Important Information” section below for further information and key assumptions. This information is provided for illustrative purposes only and is not representative of actual fund performance. Actual outcomes may differ materially. The information is not a recommendation or offer to make any investment or to adopt any particular investment strategy. Simulated past performance is not indicative of future performance of any fund or strategy.
*Simulated backtest inception date is 31 December 2010
The simulated historical strategy performance illustrates the trade-off between growth potential and investment risk across the different strategies: those with greater exposure to growth assets delivered higher long-term returns but also experienced greater volatility and deeper drawdowns. By contrast, strategies with a higher allocation to defensive assets generally provided a smoother investment experience, with lower long-term growth potential.
This range of risk profiles allows investors to choose an allocation aligned with their investment goals and tolerance for risk, from a more balanced portfolio with greater defensive exposure through to an all-growth portfolio targeting higher long-term capital growth. Regardless of which risk profile is chosen, returns were greater than 8% p.a. over the simulated period, demonstrating that each profile provided the potential to capture market returns and deliver long-term growth.
The taxman cometh
Recent changes to Australia’s capital gains tax (CGT) framework have brought greater focus to tax-efficient portfolio implementation. From 1 July 2027, the existing 50% CGT discount will be replaced by inflation-based indexation, alongside a minimum 30% tax rate on real capital gains for affected investors.
This is one of the key structural benefits of the new diversified funds, which have been designed to support improved after-tax outcomes through:
- An ETF-only structure. Utilising ETFs as the sole underlying instead of unlisted managed funds comes with key benefits. ETFs can be more tax-efficient than actively managed unlisted funds because they generally have lower portfolio turnover and better mechanisms for limiting capital gains passed on to continuing investors. Further detail can be found in this article.
- Internal netting of capital gains and losses. When the time comes for investors to sell, the fund-of-funds structure allows gains and losses across the underlying portfolio to be offset within the diversified ETF. This is increasingly relevant under the new CGT indexation framework, where real losses on individually held assets may not offset indexed gains in the same way.
- Tax-aware rebalancing. The rebalancing strategy seeks to minimise unnecessary portfolio turnover and the realisation of capital gains, while keeping each Fund aligned with its target asset allocation and intended risk profile.
- Tax-efficient currency hedging. The currency-hedged underlying ETFs each have 100% of assets elected into TOFA. This can allow certain hedging gains to be deferred and treated on capital rather than income account, potentially reducing tax drag and supporting improved after-tax outcomes.
Please note that Betashares is not a tax adviser. This information should not be construed or relied on as tax advice and investors should obtain professional, independent tax advice before making an investment decision.
Portfolio applications
The diversified range can support a number of implementation methods, including:
All-in-one portfolio solution
Can act as a low-cost complete portfolio solution, with asset allocation taken care of by the Betashares Investment Committee and automatic rebalancing.
Core portfolio anchor
Can provide robust portfolio foundations by capturing broad market returns across asset classes, with scope to add smart beta or active strategies where outperformance potential is sought.
Superannuation portfolios
A potential implementation solution within superannuation, where low cost and tax efficiency will remain important portfolio considerations.
Investment Implementation
For more information on each ETF, please visit the respective fund page, or the Betashares Diversified ETFs home page:
Important Information
- The simulated historical strategy performance illustration included above shows simulated historical performance of balanced, growth, high growth, and all growth portfolios for the period from December 2010 to June 2026, using daily data. It is based on certain assumptions and is subject to certain inherent limitations.
- The simulated strategy performance uses performance of the index for each underlying ETF held in the corresponding Betashares Diversified Fund in proportion to the applicable SAA weightings. Please refer to the PDS for the strategic asset allocation of each Fund.
- Allocation to cash for the diversified balanced strategy is represented by the Morningstar AUD 1-Month Cash Index.
- The information provided is not a recommendation or offer to make any investment or to adopt any particular investment strategy. Investors should make their own professional assessment of the suitability of such information, relying on their own inquiries.
- This information is provided for illustrative purposes only and is not representative of actual fund performance. Actual outcomes may differ materially.
- You cannot invest directly in an index.
- Simulated past performance is not indicative of future performance of any fund or strategy.
Key Assumptions
- Simulated performance is net of management fees and costs of 0.19% p.a., but does not reflect underlying ETFs’ management costs.
- For each strategy, the underlying indices are rebalanced back to SAA target weights if, at quarter end, the allocation to an asset class deviated from the SAA by more than 2%.
- All returns assume reinvestment of distributions and do not take into account transaction costs.